SPECIAL REPORT: The Case for the Carrier
Today's Carrier Force --And Tomorrow's
Being Transformed by "Leap-Ahead" Technology
By SCOTT C. TRUVER
Dr. Scott C. Truver is the vice president for national security studies
and director of the Center for Security Strategies and Operations, Anteon
Corporation, Arlington, Va.
The Department of Defense continues to peer deeply into the future to
ferret out threats to U.S. interests and to identify military requirements
and the platforms, systems, and technologies needed to meet those threats.
A sharp focus has been on ways to "leap a generation of military
technology." So far the White House has not announced exactly how to
capture such "leap-ahead technologies" affordably or quickly,
while at the same time delivering on other campaign promises and
continuing to meet today's defense needs. Nevertheless, the nation's
aircraft carrier forces have become one of several focal points in the
debates.
Still, in times of international crisis the president continues to
ask"Where are the carriers?" For President George W. Bush,
the first such "crisis" (never officially described as such) was
the April confrontation sparked by the mid-air collision of a Navy EP-3E
aircraft and a Chinese F-8 fighter. To ensure that future presidents will
have the carriers when and where they are needed, the Navy and Newport
News Shipbuilding (NNS) have put in place a well-conceived program to take
advantage of leading-edge technologies to deliver a revolutionary
sea-based naval aviation force in an evolutionary and affordable way.
Whether the Bush administration, and those that follow, will embrace
the Navy's carrier program remains to be seen. But it is clear that
currently approved Navy acquisition programs will need a long-term
political and fiscal commitment.
An Evolutionary Revolution
"We have reached the end of the line in the Nimitz [CVN 68]-class
carriers," according to Rear Adm. Roland B. Knapp, program executive
officer for aircraft carrier programs. "The ninth Nimitz-class
carrierRonald Reagan [CVN-76]is under construction at Newport News
Shipbuilding, and in January we awarded the contract for the tenth Nimitz-class
carrier, CVN-77, which will be the 'transition ship' to a revolutionary
next-generation carrier class, CVNX.
"Although a highly successful design," Knapp continued,
"until recently the most we have been able to do is work on the
margins of the CVN 68, which were all but 'frozen' when Nimitz delivered
in 1968." Hamstrung for nearly three decades by extraordinarily
constrained aircraft carrier research-and-development (R&D) resources,
Knapp admitted, each successive ship in the class "has in reality
been a 'modified-repeat,' and sometimes new equipment was incorporated
only because in-service equipment was no longer available."
"Until recently" means the Ronald Reagan, according to Thomas
Schievelbein, NNS chief operating officer. "Beginning with
Reagan," he explained, "we have had the chance to introduce more
advanced systems than in previous Nimitz-class ships. This process
continues seamlessly through CVN 77 and into CVNX1 and CVNX2."
Knapp concurred. "We finally have sufficient R&D fundsand,
importantly, the promise of funding stabilityto carry out an
evolutionary program that will get us from CVNs 76 and 77 to a
revolutionary CVNX to meet the needs of the 21st century."
"We are leaping several generations of carrier technology in the
progression from the Nimitz-class carrier design through CVN 77 and to
CVNX," said Adm. Frank L. Bowman, the director of Naval Nuclear
Propulsion. "We are taking good advantage of major technological
improvements in several generations of submarine nuclear-propulsion
plants, from the Los Angeles and Ohio classes in the 1970s to the
Virginia-class submarines that will soon join the operating forces. These
improvements will be captured in the CVNX1 to provide a revolutionary
design for the reactor and propulsion plant, resulting in a better
warfighting ship while lowering life-cycle costs."
A Two-Track Plan
Since 1993, the Navy has pursued a two-track plan to modernize its
carrier forces and to ensure that future carriers and air wings are
completely integrated "systems of systems" that can serve
throughout the 21st century. Originally, the Navy was intent on producing
a "clean-sheet" design--hurdling a modified-repeat CVN 77 to a
revolutionary design for the CVNX. That approach proved to be
unaffordable, and the service subsequently crafted an affordable
three-ship program, beginning with the "transitional" CVN 77 and
spanning 18 years of innovation through CVNX1 and CVNX2.
As outlined by Scott Stabler, NNS vice president for aircraft carrier
construction, CVN 77 will in 2008 replace the oil-fired USS Kitty Hawk
(launched in 1960). CVN 77 will incorporate several new technologies and
systems, including a new integrated warfare system, and a redesigned
island as well as a new multifunction radar (MFR) and a volume search
radar (VSR). Both radars are being developed in collaboration with the
Zumwalt-class (DD 21 land-attack destroyer) program. A new
high-efficiency/low-cavitation propeller design also is planned that,
Knapp noted, will be "the first new carrier propeller since the USS
Forrestal reached the fleet in 1955."
Reducing total ownership costs (TOC) is very important for both the CVN
77 and the CVNX. "We have a goal to reduce crew size by as many as
550 people from the current Nimitz-class baseline [some 3,500 men and
women] to help reduce costs," Knapp explained. "But we're doing
this in a 'smart' way, by taking jobsnot just Sailorsoff the ship.
We are taking human-factor engineering needs into strong account as we
move forward." Because crew costs are anywhere from 40 percent to 60
percent of a ship's TOC, reducing crew size will have both an immediate
and a long-term effect.
In January, the Navy awarded a $3.8 billion contract to Newport News,
reflecting the yard's much-expanded role in CVN 77 design and construction
compared to previous carriers. "This is the first time that we have
the full responsibility for the development, acquisition, and integration
of the carrier's combat system," said Irwin F. Edenzon, NNS vice
president for technology development and carrier fleet support.
Moving beyond the Nimitz-class has been the subject of an analysis of
alternatives (AOA) begun in 1997. In the latest round of carrier
introspection, the CVNX AOA examined: (a) overall sea-based air concepts
of operations; (b) air wing size and composition--from 40 to 80 aircraft,
both conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and short takeoff/vertical
landing (STOVL) designs; (c) propulsion systems (nuclear/steam, oil/steam,
gas turbine, and even diesel plants); (d) a variety of
flight-deck/hangar-deck configurations; and (e) speed and survivability
features. "The conclusion was to pursue a nuclear-powered CVNX that
would have an air wing of 55 to 75 CTOL aircraft," Knapp said.
"We looked at 70 total ship alternatives--37 of which were new
concepts that we never addressed previously--before deciding on a
large-deck nuclear configuration."
Size brings with it greater survivability and other operational
benefits not usually understood. "Even if we had a small wing of just
55 aircraft," Knapp pointed out, "we could generate about 40
percent more combat sorties on a carrier designed to operate 75 aircraft,
compared to the [number generated by the] same air wing operating from a
55-aircraft ship." The 75-aircraft wing increased the notional
carrier displacement by only about 14 percent, and TOC by about 8 percent.
"... We get enhanced survivability against an array of traditional
and asymmetric threats," Knapp continued, "while at the same
time enhancing seakeeping in high seas and adverse weather--an important
operational benefit."
In the end, the secretary of defense approved a nuclear-powered CVNX of
approximately 100,000 tons with the following improvements (to be spread
between CVNX1 and CVNX2):
1. A new-design nuclear reactor and propulsion plant;
2. Significantly increased electrical-generating capacity and a new
zonal distribution system that will greatly reduce the ship's reliance
upon steam;
3. An enhanced, integrated warfare system based on the CVN 77
"baseline" warfare system;
4. An electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS) and an
electromagnetic aircraft recovery system (EARS);
5. A new flight-deck/hangar-deck layout and design, including
"pit-stop" refueling and rearming stations;
6. More automated and human-systems-enhanced equipment;
7. Increased passive survivability features and improved damage-control
systems;
8. A redesigned island; and
9. Open-architecture systems that would provide the flexibility needed
to incorporate upgrades and insert new-technology systems.
"CVNX1 will be designed within the basic Nimitz hull
envelope," Matthew J. Mulherin, NNS director of the CVNX program
office, said, "which shows the inherent flexibility and adaptability
of the CVN 68 [design] and the genius of the Navy/shipbuilder team that
designed the ship in the mid-1960s.
"With the carriers' 50-year lifetimes," he noted, "the
same hull design will serve the nation from 1968 to 2063." CVNX1 will
deliver in 2013, replacing the nation's first nuclear-powered carrier, USS
Enterprise, when that ship reaches 52 years of age.
CVNX2, which is planned to replace the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67,
launched in 1967) in 2018 will commence construction in 2011 and will
incorporate: (a) advanced active and passive survivability features; (b)
the same nuclear reactor/propulsion plant planned for CVNX1; (c) modular,
open-architecture, reconfigurable internal arrangements; (d) EARS; and (e)
upgrades of the CVNX1 warfare system.
New Nuclear Reactor Planned
"With CVNX," Bowman pointed out, "we are leaping several
generations of reactor and propulsion-plant technologies. We are building
upon the incremental improvements [that have occurred] since the 1970s in
submarine reactor and propulsion technologies and design to deliver to
CVNX1 a reactor-propulsion plant system that will enhance warfighting
capabilities, reduce manningand not just in the engineering
spacesand help cut total ownership costs."
The Navy is doing all this at a fraction of the cost that it would have
taken to "leap" from the reactor technology in USS Nimitz in the
mid-1960s directly to the CVNX1. "The R&D for submarine
propulsion technologies," Bowman said, "has increased by about
25 percent the energy density of the CVNX reactor compared to CVN 77's
plant, cut by about 50 percent the reactor and steam-plant components, cut
by about 50 percent the number of people in the reactor compartment--and
associated recruiting, training, and retention costs--simplified
operations and maintenance, reduced by 20 percent the overall
propulsion-plant life-cycle costs, and provided an electrical-plant
architecture that will facilitate the incorporation of future warfighting
enhancements and cost-reduction opportunities.
"Not only that," he continued, "CVNX warfighting
capabilities will be enhanced. Survivability will be improved through
highly redundant, high-integrity, zonal electric distribution for the
first time in carriers and the replacement of steam with electric
auxiliaries. Operational availability will be increased because the
simplified plant will lead to easier operation and improved casualty
control, improved continuity of power, greater reliability, and reduced
maintenance.
"Finally," he emphasized, "folks should recognize that
these innovations are proven, are here ready for use, and are not a
futuristic study--as Admiral Rickover [Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, the
"father" of the nuclear-powered Navy] repeatedly explained when
describing his reactors as 'not paper reactors.'"
A "Hotbed" of Innovation
"What is fundamental to the transformation of America's carrier
forces," NNS President and Chief Executive Officer William Fricks
explained, "is the very close teamwork that comes from several
decades of working with the Navy to ensure that each successive carrier is
an improvement over the previous ships we have delivered. We understand
the need to do this in an affordable way," he continued, "and
VASCIC [the Virginia Advanced Ships and Carrier Integration Center] will
be key to the future of America's sea-based air power."
Newport News is increasingly seen as a "hotbed" for
innovation, change, and transformation in the way that carriers are
designed and engineered, constructed, and maintained throughout service
lives now reaching 50 years, and sometimes longer. "Although we are
not quite the 'full-service contractor' ... envisioned in other ship
programs," Edenzon said, "we are taking a 'cradle-to-grave'
approach in ensuring that the carriers are fully capable of carrying out
their missions."
"VASCIC is a 'win-win-win' situation," Fricks said. "We
are teaming with the Commonwealth of Virginia, which has invested about
$100 million for a leading-edge engineering, lab, test, and training
facility; with numerous state universities and colleges; and with the best
of U.S. industry to be the focal point for emerging technologies and
systems for future carriers."
The new facility, which is built upon the foundation of the
company-funded Carrier Innovation Center, Edenzon said, "will link
Newport News, the Navy, warfare systems developers, other Navy and Joint
laboratories and innovation centers, and fleet operators in a virtual
network of data, experimentation, testing, and training in an integrated
'system-of-systems' approach.
"By focusing on the front end of the design-and-engineering
process, including taking a hard look at how the human fits into the
design and operation of all elements of the ship and support to the air
wing," Edenzon said, "we can ensure that warfighting
capabilities will be maximized, not only when the carrier enters service
but throughout its lifetime, and operating and support costs
minimized."
The NNS "hotbed" for innovation will not be limited to
carriers, but will be carried over into the company's nuclear-submarine
design, engineering, and construction business. That
"value-added" factor may well have been an important
consideration in the negotiations with General Dynamics (GD) that led to
the April decision by GD to acquire NNS for integration with GD's Electric
Boat (EB) Company. "Both Newport News and EB have established a very
strong, collegial, and forward-leaning team on the Virginia-class attack
submarines," Fricks said, "and we expect this to continue in the
futureanother 'win-win' solution for the nation."
The Way Ahead
Although CVN-77 is the final carrier of the Nimitz class per se, the
Navy and Newport News are building upon its foundation of engineering and
operational excellence. They are teamed on a venture that will see
"leap-ahead" technologies introduced into the carrier force in a
measured, affordable manner that ultimately will transform the fleet for
22nd-century operations.
The great-great-grandchildren of today's engineers, shipbuilders,
politicians, Sailors, and the American people as a whole, will almost
certainly celebrateor perhaps ruethe decisions the Bush
Administration makes in the next few months. *
|
