Title: compilation of the LPD-17 San Antonio Class
3er - June 6, 2006 07:06 AM (GMT)
LPD-17 San Antonio Class: The USA's New Amphibious Ships
LPD-17 San Antonio Class amphibious assault support vessels are a new class of ship which is just entering service with the US Navy. Much like their predecessors, their mission is to embark, transport, land, and support elements of a US Marine Corps Landing Force. What changes are the capabilities and technologies incorporated to perform that mission, including internal technologies as well as accompanying platforms like the V-22 Osprey and Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
Navy sources note that the 9 scheduled ships of this class (reduced from 12) are slated to assume the functional duties of up to 41 previous ships. 9 ships taking over the duty of 41 ships! These include the USA's older LSD-36 USS Anchorage Class dock landing ships (all decommissioned as of 2004, LSD-36 and LSD-38 transferred to Taiwan) and its LPD-4 USS Austin Class ships (12 ships of class built and serving). The San Antonio Class ships may also replace two classes of ships currently mothballed and held in reserve status under the Amphibious Lift Enhancement Program (ALEP): the LST-1179 Newport Class tank landing ships, and LKA-113 Charleston Class amphibious cargo ships. The PMS 317 FAQ notes that the LPD-17 San Antonio Class' projected average cost once all ships are built is $1.2 billion.
The latest item is a $2.91 billion contract for construction of USS San Diego [LPD 22] and USS Anchorage [LPD 23], with long lead time materials and associated labor for a third ship the USS Arlington [LPD 24].
LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Capabilities and Features
The LPD-17 Class featured both an innovative development process and 21st century features that optimize them for roles ranging from an Assault ship that carries and sustains Marine Expeditionary Units to use as a command node, disaster relief operations, etc.
LPD-17s will operate as part of larger Amphibious Task Forces in conjunction with a full set of airpower, additional assault ships, and air and sub-surface defense vessels. They can also be parceled out as the keystones of smaller three-ship Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs)/Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESGs), or even operate independently in low-threat scenarios during "split-ARG" operations that help the group cover multiple areas of responsibility and respond to more than one contingency simultaneously.
MV-22 Osprey
Automation allows the San Antonio Class ships to embark only 360 sailors, freeing up space for up to 800 combat troops. The ships will boast 36,000 cubic feet of stowage for cargo and ammunition, 25,000 square feet for vehicles, and significant fuel capacity. They will have deck spots for operating and supporting up to 2 $100+ million MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, or 4 CH-46 Sea knights or comparable helicopters, or 6 AH-1 Super Cobra/ Viper attack helicopters, or 2 CH-53 Super Stallion heavy transport helicopters. Hangar space will accommodate only one V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor or CH-53 heavy-lift helicopter, or it could be used for up to 3 AH-1 attack helicopters, or 2 CH-46 or comparable-size helicopters, or any appropriate combination thereof.
These ships will also carry 2 LCAC hovercraft for ship-shore transport, plus 14 of the Marines' forthcoming Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles with swim-out capability up to 20 miles offshore.
Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)
The 684-foot, 25,000-ton vessels are equipped with 4 sequentially turbo-charged Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, generating 41,600 hp (10,400 each) and driving two shafts. A new high-power "low-drag" propeller hub design provides improved propeller efficiency, and helps them power the ship to speeds above 20 knots. Meanwhile, the ship's electrical power is provided by five 2500KW Caterpillar Ship Service Diesel Generators (SSDG). The ship auxiliary systems are all electric, including electric heating and water heaters, 7 York air-conditioning units (which will be appreciated by many troops), and a 72,000 galons per day reverse osmosis water-generating plant.
These new vessels will also serve in a number of roles beyond combat.
While LPD-17 vessels will have their own helicopter contingent for patrols and transport operations, their large deck also makes them useful inshore "lilly pads" that can quickly refuel and turn around rotary aircraft from other vessels or bases to keep them on station longer. The design is equipped to function as a casualty receiving and treatment ship, with 24 beds and two operating rooms. Its communications capabilities will surpass most US and foreign vessels, which will make San Antonio class vessels excellent command ships for US and joint task forces and should make them excellent UAV hosts or controllers. While its 72,000 gpd water production capacity increases onboard creature comforts, it also allows the ship to operate in a critical lifesaving role in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the 2005 Asian tsunami, when fresh water is often the most urgent and difficult requirement.
AN/SPS-48E radar on LPD-17 USS San Antonio
The LPD-17 ships will also incorporate significant advances in ship self-defense, survivability, and C4I systems. Fiber-optic wiring throughout the ship is designed for long-term upgradeability and durability. This will be tied into a combat system designed for maximum commonality and upgradeability across the USA's new carriers, destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships, and LPD-17 class. The system will control a set of air, surface, and navigation radars, as well as electronic countermeasures systems, towed torpedo decoys, missile decoy systems, and air defense that will include the RIM-116 RAM missile system at first but may expand to include vertical launchers for the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles that equip many advanced NATO warships. For close-in defense, the LPD-17 class will also carry some Mk 46 stabilized 30mm autocannon with advanced sensors, as well as the traditional .50 caliber machine guns.
If all of those measures fail, vulnerability upgrades include improved fragmentation and nuclear blast protection, and a shock-hardened structure with upgraded whipping resistance and structural connections. The ship has also optimized the separation of redundant vital systems, possesses a diverse suit of fire-fighting options, and was intended to have a significantly reduced radar cross section signature (1/100th of the LSD-41 Class).
The San Antonio Class worked to minimize its signature across a number of spectra. In particular, it optimizes radar cross-section by streamlining topside layout and incorporating reduced radar signature technologies and design. Relevant design features include a boat valley instead of a boat deck, removable coverings over the rescue boat and fueling at sea stations, and accommodation ladders that fold into the ship's hull. Meanwhile, the advanced composite-enclosed mast/sensors, which enclose the ship's radars and communications antennas, give the ship its distinctive profile.
While an article in the San Antonio Express-News notes that the ship's radar signature will not be reduced as much as planned, compromising its survivability in littoral regions, they do have a smaller signature than the ship classes that precedes them. Another minor consolation of the design is that there are fewer edges and seams to collect rust, and corrosion-resistant paint and composite building materials also reduce maintenance and painting costs and requirements.
The ship also incorporates the latest quality of life standards for the embarked Marines and sailors. Berthing spaces have an extra one to two feet of headroom - enough for sailors and Marines to sit up in their racks. There's also 40% more personal storage space in all the berthing areas. Food service in particular has been modeled for maximum efficiency on both ends, via simulation and task/traffic flow analysis. The ships will also feature a ship services mall to ease long deployments, a fitness center, and learning resource center/electronic classroom enabled by the ship's improved bandwidth and computing capabilities.
LPD-17 ships have also been designed from the outset to accommodate the modern reality of mixed gender sailors and Marines. On behalf of those embarked troops, passageways are 25-30% wider than previous LPDs so combat-loaded Marines can move in full gear inside the skin of the ship, just as if they were topside.
That combat role remains top-of-mind. The USS New York [LPD 21] will incorporate bow steel cast from salvaged remains of the World Trade Center. It is currently under construction. Later vessels in its class will include USS Arlington [LPD 24], named after the section of the Pentagon that was also hit by an airliner on September 11. USS Somerset [LPD 25] is named in memory of United Flight 93, whose passengers' heroic struggles with al-Qaeda hijackers crashed the plane in a Somerset County, PA field instead of the intended targets of the Capitol building or White House.
LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Project & Issues
The original December 1996 US Navy contract was awarded to an industrial alliance led by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (formerly Litton Avondale), with General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Raytheon Electronic Systems and Intergraph Corporation, to design and construct the first of an anticipated 12 ships under the Navy's LPD-17 program.
Avondale was supposed to build 8 of these ships, while Bath Iron Works would build 4 ships. In June 2002, however, a revised Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Northrop Grumman and Bath Iron Works. Northrop Grumman would responsible for the construction of all LPD-17 San Antonio Class vessels, but they would trade construction of 4 of the USA $1.5 billion DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyers to Bath Iron Works.
Reduced operational costs and an improved capability to incorporate technological advances over its 40-year service life were also essential design objectives for LPD 17. In working to accomplish these objectives, the design team incorporated hundreds of suggestions and recommendations from more than 1,000 sailors and Marines in the "Design for Ownership" process. Simulatoipn and modeling were used heavily, and virtual crews drawn from other areas of the US Navy took "virtual tours" of the design zones of the ship via a 3D model at initial reviews, at 50% design reviews, and at 90% design reviews. Cargo functions received particular attention.
Meanwhile, the entire project alliance worked together at the same location along with the project sponsor in order to maximize communication.
Despite these efforts, the LPD-17 Class has experienced a number of problems as it goes from drawing board to production and commissioning.
The LPD 17 San Antonio was initially budgeted at $954 million, but will likely end with a final price tag about $804 million over budget ($1.76 billion). The LPD 18 New Orleans, which was nearly 70% complete when DID covered it in 2005, was budgeted at $762 million and is likely to run $249 million over budget ($1.01 billion).
LPD-17 San Antonio Class amphibious assault support vessels are a new class of ship which is just entering service with the US Navy. Much like their predecessors, their mission is to embark, transport, land, and support elements of a US Marine Corps Landing Force. What changes are the capabilities and technologies incorporated to perform that mission, including internal technologies as well as accompanying platforms like the V-22 Osprey and Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
Navy sources note that the 9 scheduled ships of this class (reduced from 12) are slated to assume the functional duties of up to 41 previous ships. 9 ships taking over the duty of 41 ships! These include the USA's older LSD-36 USS Anchorage Class dock landing ships (all decommissioned as of 2004, LSD-36 and LSD-38 transferred to Taiwan) and its LPD-4 USS Austin Class ships (12 ships of class built and serving). The San Antonio Class ships may also replace two classes of ships currently mothballed and held in reserve status under the Amphibious Lift Enhancement Program (ALEP): the LST-1179 Newport Class tank landing ships, and LKA-113 Charleston Class amphibious cargo ships. The PMS 317 FAQ notes that the LPD-17 San Antonio Class' projected average cost once all ships are built is $1.2 billion.
The latest item is a $2.91 billion contract for construction of USS San Diego [LPD 22] and USS Anchorage [LPD 23], with long lead time materials and associated labor for a third ship the USS Arlington [LPD 24].
LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Capabilities and Features
The LPD-17 Class featured both an innovative development process and 21st century features that optimize them for roles ranging from an Assault ship that carries and sustains Marine Expeditionary Units to use as a command node, disaster relief operations, etc.
LPD-17s will operate as part of larger Amphibious Task Forces in conjunction with a full set of airpower, additional assault ships, and air and sub-surface defense vessels. They can also be parceled out as the keystones of smaller three-ship Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs)/Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESGs), or even operate independently in low-threat scenarios during "split-ARG" operations that help the group cover multiple areas of responsibility and respond to more than one contingency simultaneously.
MV-22 Osprey
Automation allows the San Antonio Class ships to embark only 360 sailors, freeing up space for up to 800 combat troops. The ships will boast 36,000 cubic feet of stowage for cargo and ammunition, 25,000 square feet for vehicles, and significant fuel capacity. They will have deck spots for operating and supporting up to 2 $100+ million MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, or 4 CH-46 Sea knights or comparable helicopters, or 6 AH-1 Super Cobra/ Viper attack helicopters, or 2 CH-53 Super Stallion heavy transport helicopters. Hangar space will accommodate only one V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor or CH-53 heavy-lift helicopter, or it could be used for up to 3 AH-1 attack helicopters, or 2 CH-46 or comparable-size helicopters, or any appropriate combination thereof.
These ships will also carry 2 LCAC hovercraft for ship-shore transport, plus 14 of the Marines' forthcoming Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles with swim-out capability up to 20 miles offshore.
Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV)
The 684-foot, 25,000-ton vessels are equipped with 4 sequentially turbo-charged Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, generating 41,600 hp (10,400 each) and driving two shafts. A new high-power "low-drag" propeller hub design provides improved propeller efficiency, and helps them power the ship to speeds above 20 knots. Meanwhile, the ship's electrical power is provided by five 2500KW Caterpillar Ship Service Diesel Generators (SSDG). The ship auxiliary systems are all electric, including electric heating and water heaters, 7 York air-conditioning units (which will be appreciated by many troops), and a 72,000 galons per day reverse osmosis water-generating plant.
These new vessels will also serve in a number of roles beyond combat.
While LPD-17 vessels will have their own helicopter contingent for patrols and transport operations, their large deck also makes them useful inshore "lilly pads" that can quickly refuel and turn around rotary aircraft from other vessels or bases to keep them on station longer. The design is equipped to function as a casualty receiving and treatment ship, with 24 beds and two operating rooms. Its communications capabilities will surpass most US and foreign vessels, which will make San Antonio class vessels excellent command ships for US and joint task forces and should make them excellent UAV hosts or controllers. While its 72,000 gpd water production capacity increases onboard creature comforts, it also allows the ship to operate in a critical lifesaving role in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the 2005 Asian tsunami, when fresh water is often the most urgent and difficult requirement.
AN/SPS-48E radar on LPD-17 USS San Antonio
The LPD-17 ships will also incorporate significant advances in ship self-defense, survivability, and C4I systems. Fiber-optic wiring throughout the ship is designed for long-term upgradeability and durability. This will be tied into a combat system designed for maximum commonality and upgradeability across the USA's new carriers, destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships, and LPD-17 class. The system will control a set of air, surface, and navigation radars, as well as electronic countermeasures systems, towed torpedo decoys, missile decoy systems, and air defense that will include the RIM-116 RAM missile system at first but may expand to include vertical launchers for the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles that equip many advanced NATO warships. For close-in defense, the LPD-17 class will also carry some Mk 46 stabilized 30mm autocannon with advanced sensors, as well as the traditional .50 caliber machine guns.
If all of those measures fail, vulnerability upgrades include improved fragmentation and nuclear blast protection, and a shock-hardened structure with upgraded whipping resistance and structural connections. The ship has also optimized the separation of redundant vital systems, possesses a diverse suit of fire-fighting options, and was intended to have a significantly reduced radar cross section signature (1/100th of the LSD-41 Class).
The San Antonio Class worked to minimize its signature across a number of spectra. In particular, it optimizes radar cross-section by streamlining topside layout and incorporating reduced radar signature technologies and design. Relevant design features include a boat valley instead of a boat deck, removable coverings over the rescue boat and fueling at sea stations, and accommodation ladders that fold into the ship's hull. Meanwhile, the advanced composite-enclosed mast/sensors, which enclose the ship's radars and communications antennas, give the ship its distinctive profile.
While an article in the San Antonio Express-News notes that the ship's radar signature will not be reduced as much as planned, compromising its survivability in littoral regions, they do have a smaller signature than the ship classes that precedes them. Another minor consolation of the design is that there are fewer edges and seams to collect rust, and corrosion-resistant paint and composite building materials also reduce maintenance and painting costs and requirements.
The ship also incorporates the latest quality of life standards for the embarked Marines and sailors. Berthing spaces have an extra one to two feet of headroom - enough for sailors and Marines to sit up in their racks. There's also 40% more personal storage space in all the berthing areas. Food service in particular has been modeled for maximum efficiency on both ends, via simulation and task/traffic flow analysis. The ships will also feature a ship services mall to ease long deployments, a fitness center, and learning resource center/electronic classroom enabled by the ship's improved bandwidth and computing capabilities.
LPD-17 ships have also been designed from the outset to accommodate the modern reality of mixed gender sailors and Marines. On behalf of those embarked troops, passageways are 25-30% wider than previous LPDs so combat-loaded Marines can move in full gear inside the skin of the ship, just as if they were topside.
That combat role remains top-of-mind. The USS New York [LPD 21] will incorporate bow steel cast from salvaged remains of the World Trade Center. It is currently under construction. Later vessels in its class will include USS Arlington [LPD 24], named after the section of the Pentagon that was also hit by an airliner on September 11. USS Somerset [LPD 25] is named in memory of United Flight 93, whose passengers' heroic struggles with al-Qaeda hijackers crashed the plane in a Somerset County, PA field instead of the intended targets of the Capitol building or White House.
LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Project & Issues
The original December 1996 US Navy contract was awarded to an industrial alliance led by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (formerly Litton Avondale), with General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Raytheon Electronic Systems and Intergraph Corporation, to design and construct the first of an anticipated 12 ships under the Navy's LPD-17 program.
Avondale was supposed to build 8 of these ships, while Bath Iron Works would build 4 ships. In June 2002, however, a revised Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Northrop Grumman and Bath Iron Works. Northrop Grumman would responsible for the construction of all LPD-17 San Antonio Class vessels, but they would trade construction of 4 of the USA $1.5 billion DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyers to Bath Iron Works.
Reduced operational costs and an improved capability to incorporate technological advances over its 40-year service life were also essential design objectives for LPD 17. In working to accomplish these objectives, the design team incorporated hundreds of suggestions and recommendations from more than 1,000 sailors and Marines in the "Design for Ownership" process. Simulatoipn and modeling were used heavily, and virtual crews drawn from other areas of the US Navy took "virtual tours" of the design zones of the ship via a 3D model at initial reviews, at 50% design reviews, and at 90% design reviews. Cargo functions received particular attention.
Meanwhile, the entire project alliance worked together at the same location along with the project sponsor in order to maximize communication.
Despite these efforts, the LPD-17 Class has experienced a number of problems as it goes from drawing board to production and commissioning.
The LPD 17 San Antonio was initially budgeted at $954 million, but will likely end with a final price tag about $804 million over budget ($1.76 billion). The LPD 18 New Orleans, which was nearly 70% complete when DID covered it in 2005, was budgeted at $762 million and is likely to run $249 million over budget ($1.01 billion).
Lord - June 6, 2006 08:50 AM (GMT)
3er thanks alot for the input...
quite a big force the US have there...they managed to have all the new equippment in the right time...
and thats what i admire about them...
In my village the say...when money talks BS walks... :lol:
quite a big force the US have there...they managed to have all the new equippment in the right time...
and thats what i admire about them...
In my village the say...when money talks BS walks... :lol:
Nutuk - June 6, 2006 08:44 PM (GMT)
Damn Yanks, they have the money to have the finest of the finest.
The US navy against the rest of the world combined they would still win!
The US navy against the rest of the world combined they would still win!
cameleon1975 - June 6, 2006 08:53 PM (GMT)
Nah,Greek U-214 would crush the US Navy! :lol: That is if we buy torpedoes for them... :huh:
DirtyBird - June 6, 2006 09:40 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Nutuk @ Jun 6 2006, 10:44 PM) |
| Damn Yanks, they have the money to have the finest of the finest. The US navy against the rest of the world combined they would still win! |
Its amazing isnt it, any nation dumb enough to challenge its supremacy will have an armada of Nimitz class CVN's, Arleigh Burke DDG's, Wasp class LHD's and San Antonio LPD's, all armed to the teeth with cruise missles, strike aircraft, marine expeditionary forces, surrounding its shores ready to attack and cripple at a moment notice. Its hard to think of anytime in history when one nation had so much military might in its aresenal!
beleg - June 7, 2006 07:09 AM (GMT)
Any nation that doesnt have ICBMs and Nukes...
delenda_est_carthago - June 7, 2006 07:28 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Lord @ Jun 6 2006, 10:50 AM) |
| 3er thanks alot for the input... quite a big force the US have there...they managed to have all the new equippment in the right time... and thats what i admire about them... In my village the say...when money talks BS walks... :lol: |
The germans have a saying which I very much like. They say:
"Hochmut kommt vor dem fall"
It can roughly be translated as "Pride/arrogance comes before the decline"
ChrisCRTS - June 7, 2006 05:48 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (delenda_est_carthago @ Jun 7 2006, 09:28 AM) | ||
The germans have a saying which I very much like. They say: "Hochmut kommt vor dem fall" It can roughly be translated as "Pride/arrogance comes before the decline" |
And what a fall it would be! :applause:
KOKORO - July 19, 2006 12:59 PM (GMT)
we have 5 th time re modernized f4 s we would bomb them !!
or at least crash them :P
or at least crash them :P
KOKORO - July 19, 2006 01:05 PM (GMT)
sea fighter !!
for naval forces designed for marine recon forces.
quite fast B)