Page 96: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1993)

(Continued from page 95.) version, SURTASS ships that were designed for the Soviet submarine thrcst

The nine SWATH ships are de- signed to be more seaworthy and, therefore, more capable of track- ing Soviet submarines in the open ocean in winter, a threat that has declined dramatically and is no longer the primary threat to the

United States.

The Department of Defense pointed out that, in view of the dramatic change in the Soviet sub- marine threat, it has reduced the planned procurement of SURTASS ships from 39 to nine. Navy offi- cials noted, however, that, upon satisfactory completion of ship de- sign and initial LFA systems test- ing, they support future planned procurement of SURTASS ships to meet other anti-submarine require- ments for deep water.

The other requirements support- ing future SURTASS ship procure- ment include the requirement to (1) respond to defense planning guidance that calls for keeping sea lanes of communication open, (2) maintain a watch over the signifi- cant number of Russian and third world submarines that remain at sea, and (3) be prepared to deal with fu- ture uncertainties should the cur- rent state of affairs - Russian good- will and intentions - change dramati- cally.

The Navy originally planned to keep its 18 monohull ships and pro- cure an additional 21 SWATH ships to give it a total of 39 ships for con- ducting undersea surveillance against submarines. With the re- duced submarine threat and because of budgetary constraints, the Navy now plans to maintain a fleet of nine active ships for conducting undersea surveillance. According to Navy offi- cials, annual operating costs are about $4.5 million per ship for monohull ships compared to an esti- mated $4.7 million for small SWATH ships and $5.3 million for large

SWATH ships. The planned pro- curement of nine new SWATH ships is estimated to cost about $1.2 bil- lion. To date, the Navy has con- tracted for five new SWATH ships - $487 million- and plans to spend $674 million more to build four larger ships through 1998.

Another $47 million will be spent to upgrade the small SWATH ships with a capability to process and ex- ploit target submarines' echoes from sound signals transmitted from LFA -the small SWATH ships will have the receive capability, but not the

LFA active capability.

Table 2 shows the current pro- curement and delivery schedules for

SWATH ships, as well as their costs, according to the fiscal year 1993

President's budget submission.

The Navy has already built one small (3,400-ton) SWATH ship and is building three additional small and one large (5,300-ton) SWATH ships, and according to the

President's fiscal year 1993 budget, it plans to build four more large

SWATH ships.

The five large SWATH ships will accommodate equipment needed to generate power for the active LFA sensors. The first of the nine SWATH ships (T-AGOS 19) has been deliv- ered to the Navy and is undergoing operational testing. Navy officials have said that the ship has experi- enced minor problems and that sea testing has not been completed.

The Navy's Operational Test and

Evaluation Force expected to report on the results of the testing in Janu- ary 1993. The three other small

SWATH ships are being built and are planned for delivery some some- time in 1993. The fifth ship (T-AGOS 23) - first of the larger SWATH ships - is under construction, with an ex- pected delivery date of 1994. The contract for the ship contains options for the four remaining large SWATH ships.

Navy program officials said they need more SWATH ships in the near term to develop effective tactics, de- fine the capabilities and limitations of LFA in shallow water, and create environmental data bases for regions of potential conflict.

Officials believe that SURTASS - with passive and active capabilities - will meet future system requirements for regional conflict. They said that

SURTASS procurement should con- tinue, despite the fact that perfor- mance requirements have not been developed.

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