Page 92: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2016)

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US NAVY REPORT

SOCS study group’s ? ndings, Trost ships for detection, tracking, targeting Gunn and Metcalf both knew the pro- time superiority. The ? eet optimized to asked Gunn for the most important take and defense. posals would meet stiff resistance. And ? ght a superpower was not dominant away. “I get 300 briefs a year,” Trost Offering a visualization would explain they knew a signi? cant science and tech- against threats such as mines, non-nucle- said. “What’s the one thing I should re- how some of these concepts might take nology investment would be required to ar submarines or small, fast armed craft member from this one?” shape. In fact, Gunn said there was a lot advance the technologies needed to real- in a challenging littoral environment. “CNO,” Gunn replied, “it’s the inte- of pressure on the team to render an il- ize this revolutionary ship concept. The Navy’s role was no less important, grated power distribution system makes lustration of what this ship would look Writing in the U.S. Naval Institute but the focus of the ? eet had to evolve.

everything else possible.” like. But that had its drawbacks. Proceedings in 1988, Metcalf said, “It is As the Cold War ended, the nuclear “We were constantly goaded into de- understandable that the Navy will tend cruisers were retired as too expensive,

Change is Hard scribing the ship physically. We avoided to cling tenaciously to whatever it per- and the other ships were kept as long as

Eventually, one potential “arsenal that completely. We didn’t want to be ceives as working in the present, long possible. The land attack destroyer lost ship” concept was dubbed the “turtle tied to a design that people would focus after it has become a part of the past. momentum. “What killed it was fall of ship,” which took its name from the fa- on, or take issue with. We were inter- This environment of ‘steady as she goes’ Berlin Wall,” Gunn said.

mous and successful Korean warship de- ested in characteristics and capabilities, is the one in which the revolution at sea The arsenal ship morphed into the SC sign dating back to the 15th century that regardless of the platform,” Gunn said. will occur. The issue is not ‘if’ we are 21 (surface combatant for the 21st cen- resembled a turtle shell. It had no masts, “We were pursuing, evaluating, assess- going to change, but ‘how.’” tury), and then the DD 21 land attack de- stacks or protruding antennas, with a ing and understanding different technol- As soon as the studies were complete, stroyer. In 2001 DD 21 was cancelled but bridge that sat low to the water. Aiming ogies to be able to propose a collection the Soviet threat evaporated with the it was resurrected as DD(X), keeping the at maximum weapons load, one of the of characteristics not dependent on top- fall of the Soviet empire. What were Zumwalt name for the class. On Feb 14, arsenal ship concepts carried as many side shape or ship hull con? guration,” once lesser localized asymmetric threats 2008 the contract was signed for DDG as 500 missile tubes and relied on other Gunn said. emerged as serious contenders to mari- 1000. The Navy originally envisioned 92 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2016

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