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By
WILLIAM H. LUEBKE
Capt.
William H. Luebke, USN, is the LPD 17 program manager.
From its
inception, the LPD 17 amphibious transport dock program has been
breaking new ground in naval ship design, acquisition, and construction
techniques--aided by innovative Department of Defense (DOD) and Navy
acquisition-reform initiatives. By incorporating lessons learned from
commercial shipbuilding, using best-business practices, and focusing on
the need of the Navy and Marine Corps for a flexible, mission-capable
platform capable of operating in demanding littoral environments, the
LPD 17 will provide a dramatic leap forward in U.S. amphibious-warfare
capability when the 12-ship class joins the fleet in the early years of
the 21st century.
Larger and more
capable than the LPD 4 Austin class, its immediate predecessor, the LPD
17 also is required to have many of the capabilities of the other three
classes of ships that it is replacing--LKA 113-class amphibious cargo
ships, LSD 36-class dock landing ships, and LST 1179-class tank landing
ships. If these four ship classes were not replaced, the Navy-Marine
Corps team would not meet DOD's Defense Planning Guidance requirement
for lift capability. The LPD 17 class, when coupled with the
capabilities of the remaining ships of the LHA and LHD amphibious
assault ships and LSD 41 Whidbey Island-class vessels, will fill the
gaps in amphibious lift to meet the lift requirement for the Navy's
21st-century amphibious force.
In addition to
lift requirements for Marine expeditionary brigades, LPD 17 also is
being designed within an Integrated Product Data Environment (IPDE) for
technological adaptability over its full 40-year service life. There
will be significantly lowered costs of ownership through reduced
manning, use of modular systems, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)
technology, and a high level of systems integration. The design for this
25,000-ton, twin-shaft, diesel-powered ship incorporates
state-of-the-art self-defense capabilities, C4I (command, control,
communications, computers, and intelligence) systems, and
reduced-signature technologies that will make it the most survivable
amphibious ship ever put to sea. Navy-industry teamwork, integrated in a
collocated setting at Avondale Industries' facilities in Louisiana, is
making this happen.
The 12-ship San
Antonio class will feature the most modern habitability improvements in
the Navy's fleet--with improved quality-of-life features for prolonged
forward deployment of embarked troops and accommodations for the
expanding role of women. It is an ongoing challenge to move successfully
through the realm of tightly constrained fiscal resources, reduced
manning, industry consolidation, ac-quisition reform, and novel business
practices, but the experience will yield great benefit to warfighter and
taxpayer alike by providing effective and affordable ships for the
nation's defense.
An
Evolving 21st-Century Design
The San
Antonio-class ship, de-signed for the Navy's 21st-century operational
environment, will deploy as a key element in Amphibious Ready Groups.
Able to land and support Marine landing forces by surface or airborne
means, the San Antonio class will play a critical enabling role in
maintaining U.S. forward presence and protecting U.S. national-security
interests.
Navy-industry
LPD 17 team members are proud of the evolving design of the class.
Participants include the Avondale Alliance, a dynamic industry team
composed of Litton Avondale Industries as prime contractor; Bath Iron
Works, a division of General Dynamics; Raytheon Systems Corporation; and
Intergraph Corporation. "Team 17," the Navy-Avondale Alliance
partnership, is at the forefront of the Navy's efforts in seeking
innovative ways of developing and integrating systems. The LPD 17
program continues to yield invaluable insight and lessons learned for
development of both the next-generation aircraft carrier (CVNX) and the
DD 21 land-attack destroyer programs.
The San
Antonio will be a revolutionary ship. The class will be
distinguished by advanced design and technology features--including its
masts, self-defense systems, Shipboard Wide-Area Network, sit-up berths,
and the all-encompassing accommodations for mixed-gender crews at sea.
One of the most
prominent and certainly most visible departures in design will be seen
in the ship's two large octagonal-trapezoidal fiberglass composite-mast
structures. These Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor (AEM/S) masts will
combine advanced shaping, materials, structures, and manufacturing
technologies to provide the ship with superior warfighting capabilities
through the integration of sensor technology and reductions in
electromagnetic emissions and radar cross sections. The AEM/S masts, the
largest composite structures ever installed on U.S. Navy steel ships,
represent a revolutionary advancement in topside engineering. The
structures are designed and will be manufactured to permit the ship's
electromagnetic transmissions to pass through with very low loss in
power while deflecting an adversary's transmissions.
The
composite-mast structures will provide a significant reduction in total
ownership cost of the ships through reduced maintenance and creation of
an affordable migration path for potential sensor upgrades such as the
Multi-Function Radar and Volume Search Radar.
The LPD 17 will
have its own "information superhighway" by means of the
Shipboard Wide-Area Network (SWAN). The SWAN, the network infrastructure
for integrating the LPD 17's electronic- and ship-control systems, will
be a digital central nervous system for the ship. Team 17 is well aware
of the innumerable ways in which networks are changing
society--including how the Navy and industry design, build, and operate
ships. For this reason, the SWAN is an integral part of the LPD 17
design. Made of a fiber-optic cable plant, copper cabling, and wireless
sensors, the SWAN will provide for both real-time and nonreal-time data
communication. Sailors and Marines will benefit from such intranetwork
services as e-mail, access to training materials, technical data-bases,
and ship monitoring systems; they also will have access to the Internet
and worldwide web.
Customer-Based
Design
Improved
quality of life for the 360 Sailors and more than 700 Marines who will
embark in LPD 17 was an important element in the ship's design from the
start. The recent adoption of the Navy's new sit-up berth--a
three-tiered bunk-bed system--will provide 40 percent more storage space
for Sailors and Marines and still provide enough headroom to sit in an
upright position. The crew and embarked troops will enjoy a more
comfortable innerspring mattress that is significantly longer. Better
lighting also will make these berthing units ideal places for reading,
writing, or just some much-needed relaxation. The sit-up berth is
expected to exert a positive impact on morale, readiness, and retention.
LPD 17's
computer-aided design (CAD) also has benefited from fleet and Marine
Corps input to an extent never before achieved during a warship
acquisition program. An example of this trend is the ship's new
refrigeration system. When concerns arose about the amount of time and
training needed to service older-design refrigeration units due to
overcrowded conditions and burdensome maintenance requirements, Team 17
responded. The San Antonio-class design was modified following the
receipt of numerous valuable suggestions from U.S. Atlantic and Pacific
Fleet Sailors. Instead of relying on four 1.5-ton refrigeration units,
two 4.6-ton twin-screw units will be installed to provide greater
efficiency and operating margins. An estimated $50 million in savings
also will be achieved as the result of the new system's reduced manning
and training requirements over the life cycle of the entire class.
Mixed-gender
crews aboard U.S. Navy ships have been a reality for many years, but
ship designs have not kept pace. The San Antonio class is designed to
meet the needs of both men and women for more personal space, for
dedicated educational and professional training facilities, and for
enhanced physical-fitness facilities. Smaller berthing spaces for unit
integrity will be identical for both male and female Sailors and
Marines. LPD 17 will have, far and away, the best habitability
improvements without sacrificing a combatant's design features.
An
Integrated Design Team
As leaders in
naval architecture and marine-engineering technology, Litton Avondale
and its corporate partners will soon begin construction of the lead ship
of the class. Beginning in 1997, the implementation of Integrated
Product and Process Development (IPPD) unified the Avondale Alliance and
the Navy into a more effective ship design and integration organization.
The LPD 17 program has benefited greatly from the principles of IPPD
through the use of cross-functional teams.
To make the
most of an IPPD-structured program, nearly all members of Team 17 have
been collocated on the grounds of Litton Avondale's shipyard in New
Orleans for nearly two years. For the first time during a shipbuilding
program, the Navy and the contractor work side by side at a single
location. Instead of having different contractors coordinating their
efforts while the ship is under construction, a true team is working to
design and integrate the ship's many systems at the same site. The
beauty of a collocated Team 17 is having all team partners working under
one roof. This environment has streamlined communication and enhanced
decision-making. In an atmosphere of open information exchange,
Navy-industry counterparts, coworkers, and key contacts are no further
away than an adjoining office space.
In an effort to
improve configuration management and reduce the cost of information
development and re-use, all LPD 17 data is being developed and
maintained in electronic form in an Integrated Product Data Environment
(IPDE). This collaborative data environment enables the various design
specialties on the LPD 17 team to develop, integrate, and access data in
real time. Team 17 has implemented IPDE to facilitate data integration,
reduce redundancy, and ensure greater accuracy. The LPD 17 database
includes 3-D geometry, nongraphic-attribute information, two-dimensional
drawings for production, technical manuals, training materials to
support the ship class, and program execution information such as plans,
schedules, and procedures. This IPDE effort significantly improves Team
17's ability to manage its information now and to reduce costs over the
full life of the class.
Reductions to
the Navy's total ownership costs (TOC) are a key driver in design
decisions associated with the ship's projected 40-year service life.
Team 17's plan to reduce the TOC of operating and maintaining the ship
class calls for investments now in improved systems or technologies to
reduce operating and support costs. For example, key shipboard piping
systems carrying saltwater will be made of titanium--more expensive
up-front, but more durable over the next 40 years. In addition to
identifying the best systems and maintenance strategies to reduce TOC,
Team 17 also is working to reduce crew size dramatically--a major
expense for any ship. Manning levels are now 20 percent below
preliminary projections (from 450 to 360), and further reductions are
being explored in areas that will not degrade the ship's warfighting and
organic-maintenance capabilities.
Design
for Ownership
LPD 17 will be
as user-friendly as possible for the warfighters of naval expeditionary
forces. The early and sustained involvement of fleet Sailors and Marines
in providing ideas and recommendations through Team 17's Design for
Ownership (DFO) process is key to accomplishing this. To date, the LPD
17 program has hosted more than 50 DFO workshops and conferences--with
combined participation of more than 1,000 Sailors and Marines. During
these sessions, after an initial briefing using flat drawings, the
design team leader guides these "virtual crews" through an
electronic 3-D model of the ship's planned spaces. Navy and Marine
operators, maintainers, and trainers provide direct and immediate
feedback to Team 17's engineers on the design of the ship's structures
and systems--before a single piece of steel is cut.
Using
computerized design tools, virtual crewmembers can view ship
compartments from above, ask to have bulkheads or piping removed for a
better view, or actually "walk through" the space. Virtual
crewmembers "sit" at a console and check for adequate reach,
visibility, and other ergonomic factors. The design team also can
project a scale-sized Sailor or Marine and position him or her in a
space, checking for physical clearance. If there is a question from the
virtual crew, the designer can provide actual clearance measurements in
real time.
Using this
interactive-computerized process, everything from fire extinguishers to
berthing compartments can be displayed and reviewed to capture
recommendations. Following each session, ideas are documented and then
evaluated in relation to structural constraints or mission requirements.
Those recommendations that are appropriate and feasible are then
incorporated into the design--leading to a more combat-ready,
"warrior-friendly" ship class when the design is finalized.
Capable
and Survivable
At more than
680 feet in length, the LPD 17 class will be substantially larger than
its Austin-class predecessor. LPD 17 will be able to carry roughly the
same amount of cargo and ammunition, but it will have more than double
the storage space for Marine vehicles--a stable, mission-flexible
platform.
LPD 17's
increased beam will accommodate a large flight deck capable of
supporting all Marine rotary-wing aircraft and still permit transit
through the Panama Canal. Four transport or four attack helicopters can
be temporarily deployed aboard the ship. The San Antonio also
will have the size and support facilities necessary for MV-22 Osprey
tiltrotor aircraft operations.
The design
incorporates a well deck aft that can be ballasted down for the launch
or recovery of both traditional and air-cushion landing craft carrying
cargo, personnel, and Marine vehicles, including tanks. The well deck
also will serve as a launch platform for the Advanced Amphibious Assault
Vehicle (AAAV). The San Antonio will be the first ship
specifically designed to support the Marine Corps' primary platform for
the overwater transport of surface-assault forces in the 21st century.
All LPD
17-class ships will have robust survivability features and the latest
computer technology. In addition to the Rolling Airframe Missile to
counter air threats, the AAAV 30mm Close-in Gun System will be installed
for close-in surface self-defense. Radar cross-section reduction
techniques, such as the AEM/S mast and an enclosed small boat bay, also
will give San Antonio-class ships a new look and make them much more
difficult to locate and target by enemy radar.
The
Road Ahead
Since the Navy
awarded the contract for the lead ship in December 1996, the LPD 17
program has cut a wide swath through many of the exciting but
challenging aspects of acquisition reform. Reopening the design to
achieve numerous quality-of-life improvements, a substantial reduction
in crew size, and scores of Total Ownership Cost decreases did not occur
without some impact to the planned delivery schedules for early ships of
the class, however.
The Navy's
objectives were achieved while simultaneously developing and learning to
use new 3-D CAD design tools, employing the IPDD environment for the
first time, and marshaling scarce engineering and design talent within
the shipbuilding industry. Because of the importance of the LPD 17
program to the way that Navy ships will be procured in the future, an
LPD 17 Executive Committee was established one year ago to report the
status of the program regularly to H. Lee Buchanan III, the assistant
secretary of the Navy (research, development, and acquisition).
Based on a
program-wide review conducted between August and October 1999, it is
expected that LPD 17's original delivery date will be extended by
approximately 10 months. Shorter extensions will be invoked for LPD 18
and LPD 20, ships which will be constructed at Litton Avondale. No
construction delays are forecast for ships in the class funded
subsequent to fiscal year 2000. The cost implications of the schedule
extensions are currently under evaluation.
In the coming
months, the LPD 17 team will work closely with the Navy's resource
sponsor, the director for expeditionary warfare, to adjust post-delivery
activities for these ships. This will minimize, with manageable risk,
the time required for them to enter active service. Looking at the
12-ship class as a whole and its planned 40-year service life, the
overall impact of these early schedule adjustments is far offset by
across-the-board improvements in platform performance--performance which
would not have been achieved were it not for the dedicated, day-by-day
efforts of the Navy-Marine Corps-industry team.
Lessons
Learned
The LPD 17
program, under the auspices of DOD and Navy acquisition- reform
initiatives, is a proving ground for several new business practices.
Foremost has been adoption of IPPD-based practices. They have mandated a
significant cultural change for both Navy and industry team members.
The physical
process of collocating government and industry team members is a fairly
straightforward proposition. But the broader intent for collocation will
only be achieved if team members have been empowered, trained, and
provided with a well-defined and consistent set of objectives. Nurturing
and maintaining an IPPD environment requires ongoing top-level
management attention and support--they are crucial to achieving success.
Team 17 also
has learned from experience that major corporate and government
organizations must work together closely from the start--as must those
"stakeholders" (the operators, maintainers, and trainers) that
cannot be physically collocated. As with any organizational change of
this magnitude, putting together an effective team takes time and
attention--but results to date indicate the investment is well worth the
effort.
The LPD 17
program demonstrates an unparalleled level of teamwork and customer
focus in the design process. This approach will continue into
production, delivery, and life-cycle support phases of the program.
Because of this focus and the Navy's long-term commitment to acquisition
reform, the San Antonio and her sister ships are well on their
way to becoming more efficient, effective, survivable, and
combat-capable 21st-century successors to the current generation of
amphibious warships. |
