Editor’s
Note
Are you ready for another important breakthrough? Probably not, because “breakthroughs” — real
and imagined — are all too common these days given the furious
pace of technology development and the untiring word machines of Madison
Avenue. But it does appear the Navy is on the verge of a major technological
step that will have an impact akin to that of its shift from sail to
steam almost two centuries ago.
The advent of electric drive power systems aboard Navy warships will
mean much more than additional energy for their computers, weapons and
galleys. Electric drive will open the door to an era in which huge amounts
of power — 10 times the electrical output of existing destroyers — will
be put to uses once considered fanciful. Free electron lasers, high-powered
microwaves and electromagnetic rail guns soon will be within the realm
of the possible.
Capt. Roger D. McGinnis, a leader in the Navy’s directed energy
programs, told Associate Editor Hunter C. Keeter: “Our bottom line
is that if we can put millions of joules of energy onto a target, something
will happen.”
And that something could mean fewer deaths and less collateral damage.
The Marine Corps is working on a microwave device that will give adversaries
a memorable burning sensation, ranging from extreme to mild.
In a fascinating report (p. 10), Keeter explains that a key element
of electric drive power systems is their ability to generate huge volumes
of surplus power, store it aboard ship and distribute it as needed. On
existing ships, power for the engines and other systems is generated
separately, and there is much less of it. The difference means weapons
that will operate at the speed of light and far more flexibility in the
hands of tomorrow’s naval leaders.
Also in this issue, Managing Editor Richard R. Burgess reports (p. 27)
on the Coast Guard’s Eagle Eye, one of the more ingenious unmanned
aircraft being developed for the nation’s future forces. With speed
and range that is tough to match, the tiltrotor aircraft promises to
help the Coast Guard revolutionize the way it patrols the seas. Its potential
has attracted the Marine Corps, which wants to take a close look at the
vertical takeoff plane.
In a related story (p. 22), Sea Power Correspondent Margaret Roth reports
that the services are making progress on that old bugaboo, UAV integration.
Deployed by the military for decades, unmanned aircraft are playing an
ever-larger part in military roles and missions, but most still provide
information immediately to a single controller at one ground station,
rather than feeding data simultaneously to multiple users through a network
available to all services. Integration, when it comes, means U.S. tactical
units will receive better quality information, obtained faster, about
the battle area.
Our Interview this month is with Vice Adm. Gary Roughead, commander
of the U.S. Second Fleet and NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, who is the
Navy’s point man on the fleet readiness program (FRP), an effort
to create a Navy that can more quickly surge to world trouble spots and
is employable for more sea days each year. Though pleased with the progress
thus far, Roughead is convinced that FRP will continue to change the
Navy for decades to come.
These stories are indicative of the coverage and analyses you will find
on these pages each month. The past is history. Sea Power is the defense
magazine that covers the future.
Richard C. Barnard
Editor in Chief
We are eager to get your feedback. Contact me at rbarnard@navyleague.org or by mail at Sea Power, 2300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 22201-3308. |
