tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post8265898873314465545..comments2024-03-28T04:22:28.228-07:00Comments on Navy Matters: Gen. Amos at West 2014ComNavOpshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09669644332369727431noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-37965725935039183102014-02-17T05:10:52.095-08:002014-02-17T05:10:52.095-08:00Solomon
do you think that his successor
- can do ...Solomon <br />do you think that his successor<br />- can do magically resolve F-35 matters which you on your SNAFU-Blog been extensively and endlessly unhappy about ?<br />- can do without amphib-fleet correct Connectors ?<br />- will instead find an APC (and funding) that will do all the things you and the EFV hoped for ?<br />- will immediately toss out the forth-coming Amphibious Mission-centric Doctrine ?TwentyTwentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935410307831357488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-74678346004642015632014-02-16T18:36:19.854-08:002014-02-16T18:36:19.854-08:00Amos is irrelevant. he has months left as Command...Amos is irrelevant. he has months left as Commandant, people are already speculating on his replacement and most importantly.....NO ONE IS LISTENING TO HIM ANYMORE.<br /><br />my take on this is that he's trying to shape his legacy. he is and will continue to be known as the Commandant that screwed the ground side and made the USMC imbalanced toward aviation.<br /><br />this gambit is just his attempt to put a finger on the scale and get historians to give him a break on his time in the big chair.Solomonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05980277484445749796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-26866124442940614832014-02-15T08:23:07.276-08:002014-02-15T08:23:07.276-08:00Part 3 of 2
Had Carter's plan to buy 24 LSD-...Part 3 of 2 <br /><br />Had Carter's plan to buy 24 LSD-41s not been curtailed to 8x plus 4 (shorty LSD-49s) by Reagan in favor of one more CVN, USMC would now have astonishing amphibious capabilities. <br /><br />To catch up, <br />- using the SLEP'd LSD-41 level of now 21st-century readiness as a fiscal baseline, <br />- 'dolling her up' with just an external applique of radar-reflective angled light plating from waterline to bridge, <br />- we may find that a 'new' copy would come in at under $700 million, including those SLEP-upgrades,<br />- with the class costing on average $211/ship <br />- plus upgrades,<br />- times at worst 170% inflation-rate since 1981.<br /><br />That is, if we lend credibility to the 2006 RAND study "Why has the Cost of Navy Ships Risen ?" . They conclude that WITHOUT endless tinkering with a type, economies of scale do indeed kick in, vessel-cost stays steady or declines (LSD-41 from $339 mill #1 hull to $151 for last four hulls - numbers per Global Security.org).<br /><br />So figure a <br />- 2012-14 SLEP-level, <br />- radar-applique'd LSD-41/21 <br />- at say 250 million then-Dollars, <br />- multiplied by 170% inflation-rate <br />and things begin to look fiscally quite promising. <br /><br />LPD-17 costs multiples if that and yet offers only 42% of well-deck area/capacity. TwentyTwentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935410307831357488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-44930363164094468352014-02-15T08:11:12.036-08:002014-02-15T08:11:12.036-08:00ComNavOps,
after the Ellis Group offered a previe...ComNavOps, <br />after the Ellis Group offered a preview of the new USMC-Doctrine in last November's PROCEEDINGS (pp. 24-29), what General Amos discussed on Wednesday this week is his first such pointed indication of what USMC's future holds. His 7-minute (plus more later) focus on Connectors is an unambiguous commitment to the amphibious mission after over a dozen years in the desert and the mountains.<br /><br />Finally, he put a spot-light on the 'unloved' LSDs and LPDs, stating that there are not enough of them - quoting under 50% of what is deemed necessary, if I recall correctly - and that they are the 'Swiss Army Knives' of naval vessels capable of doing things nobody else can, and with ever-changing float-in/float-out self-deploying 'mission-modules' such as via LCA and LCU-(x).<br /><br />And that ties in with CNO's 'Payload over Platforms' thinking. <br />We may have enough CVN, DDGs etc, to last for a bit. Amos's Wednesday announcement on Connector-development underscores the emergence in USMC and overall USN Littoral tactics of well-deck ships that uniquely can bring those MEU (and other) 'payloads' to the theater.<br /><br />When he discusses 'stacking' LCU-(x) by the dozens aboard a commercial carrier even, then he likely will be less amenable towards 'short well-deck' Amphib-proposals which further reduce amphibious lift-capability - quite against his new emerging Doctrine.<br /><br />So, the next 'fight' may well be over the LSD-41/49 replacements. They better have long well-decks at a 440-feet minimum, as LSD-41 was designed with over 30 years ago. LCU-F needs 440-feet to fit 6x of them per LSD-41, i.e. 6x 200tons of assault-load.TwentyTwentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935410307831357488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5579907756656776056.post-61877817872860719672014-02-15T07:56:15.162-08:002014-02-15T07:56:15.162-08:00Or one could view this from another angle:
- no wo...Or one could view this from another angle:<br />- no word on F-35B since more lines of blog-posts have been generated already on it than design-, construction- and operational lines of code for the type all taken together.<br /><br />- MV-22 'is there' already, doing work in more and more circumstances.<br /><br />- Aviation assault ?<br /><br />- Cancellation of EFV was necessary since while fast, it was just lightly armored and worst of all had absurdly short range on water, which would have for the next 30-40 years forced the ARG to stay within reach of even third-tier shore-defense - a catastrophic conceptual error on the part of EFV-designers and program-mangers.<br /><br />- Once you move the ARG/MEU to 80nm, then all 'self-deployment' reflexes of APCs is done with for good. Only fast heavy-lift LCU-types and LCAC-2/SSC would haul them to often touch the beach with indeed dry wheels and tracks. You'd still need amphibious capability to cross tidal streams, rivers, lakes, ponds. And for that, 7 knots water-speed is adequate.<br /><br />And in this age of fiscal contraction, that leaves AAV-7, but <br />- with a more powerful drive-train for speed, <br />- up-armor in keeping with experiences in Iraq,<br />- bigger-bore turret,<br />all on the basic body. <br /><br />Cancellation of EFV thus allows a clear focus on what he is the first Commandant to do by calling for fast heavy-lift Connectors and putting money towards this.<br /><br />Should he indeed support LCU-F, then the reduction in heavy-weight items would be temporary until that type proves indeed able to move up to there MBTs at 19kts across 1500nm - which then allows dusting off the parked gear for reinsertion into amphibious active duty.<br /><br />LCU-F's range of other in-the-field reconfigurable (Amphib-based) missions makes her more attractive yet, from <br />- 55,000 gals combat-tanker (= 180+ AH-1 refuels) and thus Bingo-platform, <br />- MARSOC-base with 2x helos 2x RHIBs, drones etc.<br />- Inshore Fire Support via HIMARS/MLRS/155mm/203mm,<br />- USMC MASH-unit equivalent,<br />- Mine-hunting/sweeping-base,<br />- Inter-Theater least-profile 200-tons load Transport at apparently only about 10-11 feet of air-draft,<br />- Long-Range Self-Deployment.<br />etc.<br /><br />General Amos is the first Commandant - as a pilot of all things - to focus on the essential nature of Connectors to the amphibious future of USMC and USN. <br /><br />For him to take the initiative to commit to R-&-D on that matter, he has on that matter redefined the relationship between USMC and USN, clearly impatient with what current heavy-lift connector he is supposed to do his amphibious work with. As viewable on YouTube, he does so on several occasions.<br />End of Part 1 of 2.<br />TwentyTwentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935410307831357488noreply@blogger.com