New Fast-Attack Nuclear Submarines to be Named Arizona and Oklahoma

[HalcyonDaze]

Since the Ticos were mentioned ... Repurposing Navy Cruisers Planned for Decommissioning: An Interim Capability for Countering Chinese Missile Attacks on Guam

As an interim move it might not be a bad idea, but I get the impression the folks over at the Heritage Foundation don't have much of a clue what it takes to keep even a static ship afloat in seawater for an extended period of time, let alone generating power and running radars.

 

[Wookie]

Since the Ticos were mentioned ... Repurposing Navy Cruisers Planned for Decommissioning: An Interim Capability for Countering Chinese Missile Attacks on Guam

As an interim move it might not be a bad idea, but I get the impression the folks over at the Heritage Foundation don't have much of a clue what it takes to keep even a static ship afloat in seawater for an extended period of time, let alone generating power and running radars.

Heard an interesting story today. The Vella Gulf is supposed to start her decommissioning SRA in the next month. I was asked to sub in for her port engineer next week so she can go on vacation.

It’s an odd time for a Port Engineer to take time off, although the SRA is locked, until I found out that she will be kept and sent to sea after her SRA. Decommissioning the Tico’s may not happen so quickly.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Heard an interesting story today. The Vella Gulf is supposed to start her decommissioning SRA in the next month. I was asked to sub in for her port engineer next week so she can go on vacation.

It’s an odd time for a Port Engineer to take time off, although the SRA is locked, until I found out that she will be kept and sent to sea after her SRA. Decommissioning the Tico’s may not happen so quickly.

If I recall the issue is the Navy wants to get rid of the Ticos to save on O&M headaches and Congress keeps swatting the idea down.

 

[Wookie]

If I recall the issue is the Navy wants to get rid of the Ticos to save on O&M headaches and Congress keeps swatting the idea down.

Yes, but there’s nothing to replace the Ticos with. And nothing for 10 years.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Yes, but there’s nothing to replace the Ticos with. And nothing for 10 years.

Really the only special facets about the Ticos are the flag/AAW coordinator space, the extra VLS cells, and the second 5" gun. The last one is of debatable importance. As for the other two, it wouldn't be that hard to replace the capability if the Navy was serious about it; the Republic of Korea's Sejong the Great DDGs are essentially enlarged DDG-51s that have an additional 32 VLS cells and the Japanese Kongo, Atago, and Maya-class DDGs (also DDG-51 derivatives) have enlarged superstructures for flag command space.

 

[Jared0425]

Yes, but there’s nothing to replace the Ticos with. And nothing for 10 years.

More Burkes or jump to the CGX program?

 

[Wookie]

More Burkes or jump to the CGX program?

The limitation IMO is room for the flag. I was a cruiser guy 40 years ago with the flag embarked. Now the flag has the choice of a carrier, the biggest target out there, or a DDG-51? I was shocked at how puny the officers and chiefs quarters are on a Burke. They have a gang head fer chrissakes. There is just no room to embark the flag and all of his/her staff. I suppose you could put a nice large amphib in the group, but that doesn’t seem to be how battle groups work anymore.

 

[Jared0425]

The limitation IMO is room for the flag. I was a cruiser guy 40 years ago with the flag embarked. Now the flag has the choice of a carrier, the biggest target out there, or a DDG-51? I was shocked at how puny the officers and chiefs quarters are on a Burke. They have a gang head fer chrissakes. There is just no room to embark the flag and all of his/her staff. I suppose you could put a nice large amphib in the group, but that doesn’t seem to be how battle groups work anymore.

The staff will have to get split up to other vessels in the fleet then. How many flag officers have you seen bunked on a SSN?

 

[Wookie]

The staff will have to get split up to other vessels in the fleet then. How many flag officers have you seen bunked on a SSN?

None.

I wouldn’t be found dead on a submarine.

I didn’t see the sky every day.

But I could.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

The limitation IMO is room for the flag. I was a cruiser guy 40 years ago with the flag embarked. Now the flag has the choice of a carrier, the biggest target out there, or a DDG-51? I was shocked at how puny the officers and chiefs quarters are on a Burke. They have a gang head fer chrissakes. There is just no room to embark the flag and all of his/her staff. I suppose you could put a nice large amphib in the group, but that doesn’t seem to be how battle groups work anymore.

The Japanese enlarged the superstructure and changed the internal layout when they built the Kongo-class off the DDG-51 Flight I baseline; the hulls are 23 ft longer with 3 ft of extra beam and overall the ships displace more than 1000 tons heavier at full load. That was done so they could act as flagships. The Atago- and Maya-class DDGs are their four equivalents to the Flight IIA (apparently though they only have a hangar for one helo) and are likewise enlarged, with the Maya-class bumping up to 48 ft longer and 6 ft of extra beam over the Flight IIAs to hit 10,250 tons at full load. I'd imagine the South Koreans likewise built their Sejong the Great DDGs with flag space; they are slightly smaller in dimensions than the Maya-class but 350 tons heavier at full load and carry an additional 32 VLS cells plus 16 deck-mounted antiship missile tubes. So if NAVSEA wanted to bulk up the DDG-51 design to fit more officer space and/or more explody things, there is a beaten path to that.

Otherwise, well, the Zumwalt-class apparently has some rather extensive command facilities along with all the other geegaws stuffed into the design, but we've only got three of them in a somewhat watered-down configuration.

Here's The Navy's Vision For A New Cruiser To Replace The Aging Ticonderoga Class

The Chief of Naval Operations has laid out some ambitious objectives for the design and the program, but some may find them unsettling.

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