US Navy News and updates

[FormerDirtDart]

Raytheon has demonstrated the ability of a modified Tomahawk to strike moving maritime targets. It would seem to offer a significant range advantage over LRASM and NSM in the upcoming OASuW competition. Being able to repurpose existing TLAM inventory and capitalize on existing infrastructure may give it an affordability advantage.
Video: Tomahawk Strike Missile Punches Hole Through Moving Maritime Target - USNI News

From the video it doesn't really appear that the missile "targeted" the vessel. But, that it maintained it's cruising altitude, and luckily ran into it's target.

Here's some additional information on this test.
Navy demonstrates synthetic guidance technology with Tomahawk missile | NAVAIR - U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command - Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Research, Development, Acquisition, Test and Evaluation

 

[barney41]

You may be right. Raytheon is developing a new seeker but it doesn't seem to have been part of this test.


http://defensetech.org/2014/02/14/navy-wants-its-tomahawks-to-bust-more-bunkers/

...Meanwhile, Tomahawk prime contractor Raytheon, is working on a new seeker for the nose of the weapon that will allow it to better destroy moving targets and more effectively discriminate targets, said Jeff Meyer, a Raytheon official.

The new seeker involves using both an active and passive seeker on the front of the missile, he said.

“A passive system picks up the radar signature of a target and goes after it. Active is something you would use in the end game that would do target discrimination and make sure you don’t hit the wrong target,” Meyer explained.

A passive seeker would receive an electromagnetic signal and follow it, whereas an active seeker would also have the ability to send out or ping an electronic signal and bounce it off potential targets. Raytheon is planning additional testing for its new seeker system on the weapon, which would allow it to separate legitimate from false targets while on-the-move.

 

[Ranger25]

You may be right. Raytheon is developing a new seeker but it doesn't seem to have been part of this test.


http://defensetech.org/2014/02/14/navy-wants-its-tomahawks-to-bust-more-bunkers/

...Meanwhile, Tomahawk prime contractor Raytheon, is working on a new seeker for the nose of the weapon that will allow it to better destroy moving targets and more effectively discriminate targets, said Jeff Meyer, a Raytheon official.

The new seeker involves using both an active and passive seeker on the front of the missile, he said.

“A passive system picks up the radar signature of a target and goes after it. Active is something you would use in the end game that would do target discrimination and make sure you don’t hit the wrong target,” Meyer explained.

A passive seeker would receive an electromagnetic signal and follow it, whereas an active seeker would also have the ability to send out or ping an electronic signal and bounce it off potential targets. Raytheon is planning additional testing for its new seeker system on the weapon, which would allow it to separate legitimate from false targets while on-the-move.

Thank you


I like the idea of both.(TASM AND LRASM) And both from VLS,

What about the SSC? No VLS? NSM canister mointed seems most likely until they can fit out with LRASM, hopefully they don't backfit Harpoons.

Make sense?

 

[barney41]

Apparently no plans for VLS on SSC. Would have been nice though because of ESSM compatibility. IMO SSC needs beefed up AAW capability for occasions when it is outside the AEGIS umbrella.

 

[kev 99]

Thank you


I like the idea of both.(TASM AND LRASM) And both from VLS,

What about the SSC? No VLS? NSM canister mointed seems most likely until they can fit out with LRASM, hopefully they don't backfit Harpoons.

Make sense?

JSM is being integrated for Mk41 as well, don't know if they will bother with a cannister launch version though.

 

[barney41]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev0G49jXJX0

Railgun prototype going to sea on JHSV next year then possibly installed on 3rd Zumwalt DDG a couple of years later. A game-changer on offense and defense. Would be great if they can manage to squeeze it into SSC down the road.

 

[Ranger25]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev0G49jXJX0

Railgun prototype going to sea on JHSV next year then possibly installed on 3rd Zumwalt DDG a couple of years later. A game-changer on offense and defense. Would be great if they can manage to squeeze it into SSC down the road.

Perhaps the 30 mega jule version

 

[alexsa]

Perhaps the 30 mega jule version

Noting the combined gerating capability of the current systems is just 3MW (at max rating, normally 85% MER is used) for all services this would be a challenge if you wanted to fire this repeatedly. You can charge capacitors but this takes time and adds weight for the capacitor units.

You could add additional genrationa capacity but you are not going to get 30MW in the vessel so capacitors will still be required and all this still adds weight.

So for repeated firing while still providing power for all the other critical systems will require a very impressive generation capacity.

I suspect the limited growth margin of LCS and even more limited margin of SSC will make this improbable.

Note: The 30MW is reported as being the available generation capacity for 12 rounds per minute according to Navweps. Not sure how good their data is. However, this does not mean the ship si fine with just 30MW in capacity as new ships are electric drive weapons systems must also have power. These are power hungary systems.

 

[barney41]

The power requirement is a key nut to crack. They're doing some intriguing work with Graphene-based supercapacitors in the labs. The future for the Navy is electric so just a matter of money and time.

 

[alexsa]

The power requirement is a key nut to crack. They're doing some intriguing work with Graphene-based supercapacitors in the labs. The future for the Navy is electric so just a matter of money and time.

Power is everything as you note. The capacitor is the enabler but you need the ability to charge it. Otherwise your ability to fire is limited by the capacity of the capacitor. If it takes hours to recharge due to the limitations of the power system then you have a limitation on the operation of the weapons system.

Naval Technolgy (published by RINA) as some interesting snippets on fusion reations being developed, particularly by lockheed, that may (if thye ever work) provide the generation capacity required.

 

[t68]

Just quick question, if once all the gremlins are ironed out of EMALS can they be retrofitted to the Nimitz class?

And is there any plans to do so?

 

[barney41]

Power is everything as you note. The capacitor is the enabler but you need the ability to charge it. Otherwise your ability to fire is limited by the capacity of the capacitor. If it takes hours to recharge due to the limitations of the power system then you have a limitation on the operation of the weapons system.

Naval Technolgy (published by RINA) as some interesting snippets on fusion reations being developed, particularly by lockheed, that may (if thye ever work) provide the generation capacity required.

One of the claimed benefits of the Graphene tech is very fast recharge times but we will just have to see if things actually pan out.
EMGR on Windsor is a no-brainer. CSBA has floated the idea of adapting JHSV as a railgun (and presumably lasers) platform as it can accommodate the weight and space concerns. A potential drawback IMO may be JHSV's long-term suitability to operate in a blue water environment.

 

[alexsa]

One of the claimed benefits of the Graphene tech is very fast recharge times but we will just have to see if things actually pan out.
EMGR on Windsor is a no-brainer. CSBA has floated the idea of adapting JHSV as a railgun (and presumably lasers) platform as it can accommodate the weight and space concerns. A potential drawback IMO may be JHSV's long-term suitability to operate in a blue water environment.

Agree the time to recharge the capacitor is critical but you alos need the generation capacity to do so in KW/h.

The JHSV doe have operating limitations as you note but they also have weight limitations in regard to total deaweight.

 

[barney41]

Next Big Future: Thirty year Roadmap for Navy power systems to support railguns and lasers

Interesting preview of how the Navy sees it‘s electric future.

 

[CB90]

One of the claimed benefits of the Graphene tech is very fast recharge times but we will just have to see if things actually pan out.
EMGR on Windsor is a no-brainer. CSBA has floated the idea of adapting JHSV as a railgun (and presumably lasers) platform as it can accommodate the weight and space concerns. A potential drawback IMO may be JHSV's long-term suitability to operate in a blue water environment.

I'd expect the use of JHSV to be primarily driven by availability and ease of installation.

No really good place to put it on a more conventional warship design without making major changes to the operating characteristics in some way, major installation downtime, testing, etc. and that's a real problem for ships that are needed for tasking in the here and now.

Better to put it on a "less important" ship for the proof of concept work.

 

[Ranger25]

Volkadav

I'd like to get your thoughts on the flexibility v light armaments of the LCS/SSC.

 

[John Fedup]

Just quick question, if once all the gremlins are ironed out of EMALS can they be retrofitted to the Nimitz class?

And is there any plans to do so?

The Ford class reactors put out 3x the electrical power compared to the Nimitz reactors so EMALS for Nimitz likely is not possible without a reactor change. I would guess the combined cost of EMALS and new reactors would make a new carrier more cost effective. Converting the QE class carriers to EMALS was going to push the QE class to 2/3 the cost of a CVN without the endurance of nuclear power. Retro is expensive.

 

[Volkodav]

Volkadav

I'd like to get your thoughts on the flexibility v light armaments of the LCS/SSC.

Ok ship design is a compromise and the biggest one, as I see it, with the LCS is the speed requirement. Without the need to do in excess of 40kt the LCS could have a more traditional hull form and a heavier baseline armament, I am no expert on USN CONOPS so can't really comment on whether the high speed is needed or not.

On the actual armament I don't believe it is as light as it appears to be as RAM for instance provides superior performance to the initial versions of Sea Sparrow employed on the Knox class frigates and the 57mm is superior to both the Mk45 5" and Mk75 3" guns in the primary anti air and anti swam missions planned for the class. Being able to operate Romeo and Sierra Seahawks as well as Firescouts provides them with equal or better ASW, anti surface, MCM capability than many larger ships.

Looking to the future Harpoon and ESSM are both used in the Danish FLEX system and could be adapted to the LCS if required but if the LSC group was operating in conjunction with a DDG would it really need this?

 

[Ranger25]

Ok ship design is a compromise and the biggest one, as I see it, with the LCS is the speed requirement. Without the need to do in excess of 40kt the LCS could have a more traditional hull form and a heavier baseline armament, I am no expert on USN CONOPS so can't really comment on whether the high speed is needed or not.

On the actual armament I don't believe it is as light as it appears to be as RAM for instance provides superior performance to the initial versions of Sea Sparrow employed on the Knox class frigates and the 57mm is superior to both the Mk45 5" and Mk75 3" guns in the primary anti air and anti swam missions planned for the class. Being able to operate Romeo and Sierra Seahawks as well as Firescouts provides them with equal or better ASW, anti surface, MCM capability than many larger ships.




Looking to the future Harpoon and ESSM are both used in the Danish FLEX system and could be adapted to the LCS if required but if the LSC group was operating in conjunction with a DDG would it really need this?

Thank you, will be interesting to see what's chosen for ASM, maybe the NSM as a stop gap until it can fit out with the LRASM

 

[AegisFC]

There was a BMD test off the coast of Virginia earlier in the week.

Defense.gov News Article: Missile Defense System Performs Successful Flight Test