THE LEADING EDGE OF TRANSFORMATION

By DANIEL GOURE

Dr. Daniel Goure is a senior fellow at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.

In a recent issue of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld defined both the objectives and characteristics of a transformed military as follows:

"Our challenge in the 21st century is to defend our cities, friends, allies, and deployed forces--as well as our space assets and computer networks--from new forms of attack, while projecting force over long distances to fight new adversaries. This will require a rapidly deployable fully integrated joint force capable of reaching distant theaters quickly and working with our air and sea forces to strike adversaries swiftly and with devastating effect. This will also take improved intelligence, long-range precision strike capabilities, and sea-based platforms to help counter 'access denial' capabilities of adversaries."

One component of the current U.S. force structure already fits Rumsfeld's vision of a transformed military: the Navy's submarine force. The current submarine fleet, consisting of Los Angeles-class (SSN-688) and Seawolf-class (SSN-21) nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) and Ohio-class SSBNs (nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines), provides unparalleled means of achieving rapid and assured access to distant theaters, collecting intelligence on potential adversaries, and striking enemies with precision lethal force. With the addition of the Virginia-class SSNs and converted Ohio-class SSGNs (nuclear-powered guided missile submarines), the U.S. submarine fleet of the future will possess new and unique capabilities for operations both at sea and against the littorals.

The Pretransformation Transformation

The U.S. Navy was faced with the need to transform the submarine fleet long before Rumsfeld took office. Even though the size of the submarine force was shrinking by almost half after the end of the Cold War, the number and range of missions for the force was increasing dramatically. Because of their ability to maintain station off distant shores, undisturbed and undetected, for protracted periods of time, the Navy's SSNs became a major provider of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support both to regional naval/military CINCs (commanders in chief) and to the National Command Authority. So great has been the demand for submarine-based ISR, in fact, in 2000--well before the additional requirements created by the global war against international terrorism could be factored into the equation--over 350 ISR mission-days requested of the submarine force went unfulfilled because of a lack of ships.

The demand for submarines to carry out other missions also has grown over the past decade. SSNs have become a primary platform for the delivery of precision strikes, for example, particularly in the early stages of a campaign. During Operation Desert Storm, U.S. submarines launched only 4 percent of all of the cruise missiles fired against Iraqi targets. In the Kosovo campaign the SSNs provided about 25 percent of the U.S. cruise missile firepower. Submarine-based precision strikes also played a key role at the outset of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The campaign in Afghanistan also demonstrated the steadily increasing importance of the role likely to be played by Special Operations Forces (SOF) in future conflicts. The U.S. Navy had foreseen that probability years earlier and took steps to significantly enhance the ability of SSNs to serve as platforms for the delivery of SOF personnel and equipment.

For the foreseeable future, the U.S. submarine force will consist primarily of 688-class and Improved 688-class boats. Their capabilities can be somewhat enhanced through the addition of new systems and weapons, but it is in the Seawolf and Virginia classes that the full transformational potential of the submarine force will be realized.

The Seawolf Class

The Seawolf nuclear-powered attack submarine was designed to provide a quantum leap in capability over the 688-class SSNs. With its greater weapons capacity, more powerful sonar system, expanded C3ISR (command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities, and greater maneuverability, particularly as compared to the 688, the Seawolf also was a worthy counter to the then-extant advanced Soviet attack submarines. Those same features allow the Seawolf to perform the expanded and in several ways more complex range of missions confronting the submarine force in the post-Cold War era.

The Jimmy Carter (SSN 23), the third and final Seawolf, is being modified to accommodate advanced-technology systems for naval special warfare, tactical surveillance, and mine warfare operations. The $887 million modification will require alterations to the basic Seawolf design.

A unique feature of the modification is the elimination of the torpedo room to allow the creation of a flexible ocean interface, referred to as the "wasp waist," that will enable the boat to deploy and recover various payloads including SOF delivery vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), sea-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and advanced weapons. The Jimmy Carter is scheduled for delivery in June 2004.

The Virginia Class

The U.S. Navy has awarded contracts for the first four boats of the class. General Dynamics Electric Boat is constructing the first of the class, Virginia (SSN 774), which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2006, and the third vessel, Hawaii (SSN 776), which will commission in 2008. Newport News Shipbuilding will build the second boat, Texas (SSN 775), scheduled to commission in 2007, and the fourth, North Carolina (SSN 777), scheduled to commission in 2009. The Navy's total requirement is for 30 SSNs of the Virginia class.

Interestingly, the U.S. Navy anticipated the idea of "spiral development" well before the term was first discussed by Rumsfeld. The Virginia-class SSN program was designed, in fact, with the probability of long-term technological innovation very much in mind--specifically including the incorporation of modular design techniques, open architectures, and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components.

To date, some 25 major improvements already are planned. With a focus on the littoral battle space, the Virginias will reap the benefits of improved magnetic stealth features, sophisticated surveillance capabilities, and various SOF enhancements.

The Navy anticipates installing an advanced sail on the Virginias, starting with hulls 5 or 6. The shape and size of the new sail will provide space for advanced future payloads, possibly including UAVs, anti-aircraft missiles, and/or even a 25mm chain gun.

The Virginia-class SSNs also will be able to provide unparalleled support for special operations. One special Virginia feature is an integral nine-man lock-out/lock-in chamber for SOF personnel that also can house SOF underwater delivery vehicles, including the Advanced SEAL Delivery System. One Virginia will be able to conduct the covert launch and recovery of an entire Special Forces team in a single evolution.

Another unique advantage is that the boat's torpedo room is reconfigurable--i.e., the center weapons and their stowage structures can be removed to accommodate a greater number of SOF personnel.

The Virginia-class SSNs also will be fitted with a host of advanced sensors and C3 (command, control, and communications) systems. Among the most important innovations, installed on the first Virginia-class SSN, are two non-hull-penetrating Photonics Masts that take the place of a conventional periscope. The new masts will be fitted with advanced intelligence-collection sensors and a laser range finder.

The Virginia-class SSNs also will be equipped with conformal sonar arrays (for undersea surveillance), advanced hull and sail-mounted sensors, and sophisticated new towed arrays (to improve their ability to detect quiet diesel-electric submarines).

Finally, the Virginias will be fully network-centric--i.e., they will be equipped with the C3 systems needed to support the development of a common tactical and operating picture with other naval and joint forces and to enhance the coordination and launch of cruise missiles and/or other weapons.

The Navy is currently evaluating a wide range of potential future enhancements to the Virginia class. One of the most significant is an integrated all-electric drive propulsion system that could be inserted into ships built after 2010. The introduction of all-electric drive would allow numerous dramatic changes in future Virginia-class boats.

The potential major reduction in space requirements for the propulsion plant that could result from the use of electric drive would open up the possibility of reconfiguring large sections of the boat to support the deployment of advanced UUVs, SOF systems, and/or future weapons. The introduction of all-electric drive also would enhance the submarine's quietness and maneuverability.

The first block of Virginia-class SSNs will be equipped both with vertical-launch systems (VLSs) and with torpedo tubes. The VLS system will be capable of launching both current versions of Tomahawk and the advanced Tactical Tomahawk, and is designed to permit the future installation of a navalized version of the 160-mile-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or similar weapons. The ship's torpedo tubes will support the launch and recovery of UUVs such as the Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System (LMRS), currently scheduled to enter service in 2003, and/or the deployment of UAVs, if tube-launched versions of UAVs are developed.

Sizing the Future Submarine Force

The U.S. Navy's current submarine force is already stretched to its limits. A study by the Joint Chiefs of Staff demonstrated that the number of submarines required in 2015 would be 68, rather than the 55 that were planned to be in service at that time. Various measures already have been taken, or are now under consideration, to ease the current burden on the submarine force. Among them are the forward-basing of at least three SSNs at Guam and the refueling of all 688-class SSNs (to extend their service lives). Another important initiative is the conversion of four Ohio-class SSBNs into conventional missile-launching/SOF-capable SSGNs.

One objective of the Virginia program is to exploit advances in sensors, weapons, and unmanned platforms to multiply the overall effectiveness of the submarine force, thereby allowing a smaller number of boats to meet the increasing demand for ISR and strike missions.

Several senior members of Congress have said that the Bush administration also needs to consider building more Virginia-class boats. The current one-a-year program is insufficient to maintain, in the period beyond 2015, a submarine force large enough to carry out all of the missions likely to be assigned. Moreover, the submarine-building component of the U.S. defense industrial base is increasingly at risk. A first step in the direction of ensuring the well-being of that base would be a decision to pursue multiyear funding for the Virginia program.

The SSGN Conversions

Advocates of transformation have long proposed expanding the ability of naval forces to provide high-volume precision firepower against shore and inland targets. An important step in that direction was the decision to fund the conversion of at least two Ohio-class Trident SSBNs into conventionally armed cruise missile-firing SSGNs. The FY 2003 defense budget provides $1 billion to begin the conversion effort. The first SSGN is expected to join the fleet in 2007.

The conversion plan is focused on creating a new and powerful undersea capability with which to address new threats, and carry out new missions, in the 21st century. The SSGN initiative involves removing the submarine's 24 ballistic tubes and replacing up to 22 of them with the Multi-All-Up-Round Canister (MAC), which is capable of housing up to seven cruise missiles--for a total of 154 cruise missiles per SSGN.

An alternate configuration would reduce the number of cruise missiles tubes to 14 (98 cruise missiles) per SSGN while reconfiguring the other tubes to support SOF operations. At a minimum, two missile tubes will be converted into nine-man lock-in/out chambers that provide access to the SEAL Advanced Delivery System or to a Dry Dock Shelter. Space will be available for 66 SEALs (with a surge potential of up to 108), plus their equipment. The converted SSGNs will be fitted with both a dedicated SOF command and control center and a Tomahawk Weapons Control System.

The availability of the extremely large Trident missile tubes also opens up the possibility of developing alternative payloads that exceed the limits imposed by the standard 21-inch torpedo tubes and VLS launchers. These could include long-range ballistic missiles, directed-energy weapons, and/or even a 5-inch naval gun to provide fire support for SOF personnel on shore.

Converting all four of the now excess Ohio-class SSBNs to the SSGN configuration would enable the Navy to maintain at least one on station overseas at all times, with a surge capacity for a second boat. Even a single SSGN would possess nearly as much cruise missile firepower as a present-day battle group. *