The Transformational Approach To Defence Procurement

 

 

Picture: Matthew J. Leonard,United States' Navy photograph

 

Herein we shall outline the approach to defence procurement used by transformationalists to acquire shiny new toys.

 

 

Picture: Unknown artist,Prevail Partners Limited picture

 

Firstly the transformationalist sees a shiny new toy in a powerpoint presentation or computer generated image.

 

 

Picture: ITookSomePhotos

 

Next the transformationalist declares that the shiny new toy is "transformational",a "revolution in military affairs" and "a game changer".

 

 

Picture: Captain Shane Charles,Crown Copyright

 

Then the transformationalist condemns combat proven military,or naval,capabilities as obsolete (by which he means unfashionable) to justify discarding them in order to liberate funds to procure the shiny new toy.

 

 

Picture: Jack Eckersley,Crown Copyright

 

The transformationalist then writes a requirement to justify the procurement of the shiny new toy,being careful to include provisions that no other system may satisfy,such as an incredibly short procurement schedule which eliminates any possibility of developing alternatives.

 

 

Picture: Corporal Daniel Wiepen,Crown Copyright

 

Having officially selected the shiny new toy,the transformationalist then scrupulously avoids having it subjected to extensive testing in order to eliminate any possibility that unforeseen problems may impede it's rapid procurement.

 

 

Picture: Andrew Linnett,Crown Copyright

 

Having procured the shiny new toy,the transformationalist next attempts to conceive a concept of operations to justify it's procurement and failing to do that,invents a brand name instead.

 

 

Picture: Unknown photographer,General Dynamics Land Systems photograph

 

If anyone asks about the concept of operation of the shiny new toy the transformationalist bombards them with vague phrases,buzzwords and acronyms (not forgetting to frequently insert the brand name) until they look bemused or,if that does not work,tells them it's secret.

 

 

Picture: Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joe Kane,United States' Navy photograph

 

Following years of successful obfuscation,the transformationalist may now retire to take up a well paid directorship with the defence contractor which builds the shiny new toy.

 

 

Picture: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan Laird,United States' Navy photograph

 

With the transformationalist now retired his successors are finally able to prematurely retire the useless shiny new toy he procured,thereby freeing up funds to procure the very latest in military,or naval,fashions.

 

A New American Frigate

In an earlier post we gave an illustration of what we wished to see in a future frigate for the Royal Navy.

Today we will look at what might be a suitable replacement for the American Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates.

The above illustration applies existing American weapon and sensor systems to our "Falkland class frigate" template.

Such as the 5 inch (127mm) Mark 45 Mod 4 gun.

The Mark 41 Vertical Launch System.

The Phalanx 1B.

Or,alternatively,SeaRAM.

AN/SPY 1F.

The MH 60R Seahawk.

Multi Function Towed Array AN/SQR 20.

All guns and missiles cover most bearings abeam of the ship,a narrow arc on the bow is covered by missiles,5" gun and a single Phalanx/SeaRam and a narrow arc on the stern is covered only by missiles and a single Phalanx/SeaRam but all weapons can be brought to bear on any bearing with a minimum of manoeuvering.

Other systems might include the Converteam Advanced Induction Motor.

LM2500 G4 Gas Turbine Generator.

All of these systems are "off the shelf" or made to order non developmental items.

The only thing which needs to be designed from scratch is a new hull to put those systems in,as the British can afford to design a new 6,850 tonne frigate,it is difficult to see why the United States' Navy could not do the same.


They could even share the Royal Navy's design (though the current design needs more work,note the poor firing arcs of the Phalanx).

The end result might be a frigate looking a little like this.

The configurable deck mentioned above is a flat load bearing area with access to the sea or pierside.

It may be enclosed or open.

It has connections for communications,power,potable and waste water services.

Items may be secured here by means of tie downs built in to the deck,bolts or welds.

Although it will be most often used as a location for boats and davits,the configurable deck can carry many other items including mines,mine hunting equipment,vehicles,submersibles,accommodation,stores,cruise missiles,sensors or any other mission specific equipment which the frigate may be required to carry either temporarily or permanently.

The unusual location of the Magazine Torpedo Launch System (an alternative to the Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes found on American ships) is based on the principle of,as far as is practical,keeping ordnance towards the extremities of the hull for damage control purposes as well as allowing a simple arrangement of torpedoes stored facing for'ard but launching on each beam.

That location was originally conceived as a suitable place for heavyweight torpedoes,which are not commonly carried by modern surface combatants.

New Missile For Littoral Combat Ships?

It is being reported on dodbuzz.com and informationdissemination.net that a new missile has been selected for the United States' Navy's Littoral Combat Ships (L.C.S.).

The Raytheon Griffin will replace an earlier Raytheon missile system which was recently cancelled after multiple failures.

Details of the Raytheon Griffin missile can be seen at designation-systems.net.

It is of similar size to a man portable anti-tank missile and consequently has a surface launched range of just 3.4 miles.

This is considerably shorter than the cancelled Non Line Of Sight (N.L.O.S.) Precision Attack Missile (P.A.M.) which the Littoral Combat Ships were intended to carry.

N.L.O.S. had a range of about 25 miles.

The very short ranged Griffin will be outranged by almost any potential threat system.

It is also likely to be out ranged by the Littoral Combat Ship's own 57mm and 30mm cannons.

It also has a very small warhead which is likely to be ineffective against any naval vessel.

About the only target this missile will be useful for is small fast boats which generally have weapons which are ineffective at all but the shortest of ranges.

Thankfully there are plans for a longer ranged version at a later stage.


This will still leave these vessels with a less than impressive weapons fit.


They will be of little use against land based threats.


That is an unfortunate quality in a warship meant to fight in the "littorals".