thedrifter
01-03-04, 06:54 AM
Frigates to forgo missiles
Upgrade to improve warships' effectiveness against small gunboats
By James W. Crawley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 2, 2004
Ever since the first modern battleship, Britain's Dreadnought, was built 97 years ago, American surface warships – battleships, cruisers, destroyers and frigates – have had one visible similarity: a menacing gun turret or missile launcher up front.
Until now.
The Navy is removing missile launchers from its 30 frigates, including five based in San Diego, in what the Pentagon says is a modernization and cost-cutting move.
The launchers, euphemistically known as "one-armed bandits" because of their single missile rail, are being lifted off the frigates' foredeck and steel plates welded over the deck.
One influential naval analyst suggested the launcher-less frigates are "semi-embarrassing" or "gelded."
Without the launchers, the Perry-class guided missile frigates, known by the Navy acronym FFG, will no longer be able to fire missiles at enemy aircraft or ships.
Instead, the warships will have to rely on two missile-toting helicopters on board, a 76 mm gun and a rapid-firing Gatling gun for offense and protection against hostile ships, aircraft and cruise missiles.
The removed missiles – anti-aircraft SM-1s and anti-ship Harpoons – don't provide much protection against cruise missiles and small, fast gunboats, said Cmdr. Jim Loeblein, skipper of the frigate Thach, which will have its launcher removed this month.
"I don't feel any less capable without the (missiles). It's a missile system that's had its time and now it's past," he said.
Existing naval tactics call for frigates to be escorts for carrier and expeditionary strike groups, which are also tended by cruisers and destroyers that provide an anti-aircraft umbrella over the entire flotilla.
Frigates will remain capable warships, until they are decommissioned in seven to 16 years, naval officials said. The warships were built in the 1970s and 1980s and are reaching the end of their 30-year life span. The Navy is also developing a class of small, high-speed warships that would operate in coastal areas.
Several frigates have had their launchers removed. All launchers will be gone by next fall.
Not having the missiles onboard will save training time and several crew positions will be cut from the ship's crew, Loeblein said. The reduced weight also will increase the ship's stability in heavy seas, he said.
Thach and the other frigates will get an upgrade to the Close-In Weapons System, known as Phalanx, that will install optical and infrared sights, in addition to its radar aiming system.
"It's very effective against small boats," said Cmdr. Dave Matawitz, a former frigate skipper who is overseeing the modernization program.
For now, the Phalanx, which uses a rapid-fire Gatling gun, is employed mainly against aerial targets.
A new missile decoy system will be added. Unlike the decoys now in service, which fire chaff rockets, the new system, called Nulka, uses an Australian-made rocket that electronically fakes out radar-guided cruise missiles.
The upgraded Phalanx weapons and Nulka decoys should be installed on all ships within three years, Matawitz said.
Frigates also will get new diesel electrical generators, reverse osmosis water purification systems and new small-boat davits, or raising and lowering devices.
The cost: about $8 million per frigate.
No estimates were available on total cost savings because most of the savings will be money not spent on maintenance; training and personnel for the missiles; and greater reliability from the new generators and water system, Navy officials said.
Naval analyst Norman Friedman said he believes the Navy is interested in reducing costs, especially for maintaining older, less-capable weapons on ships that will be decommissioned in coming years.
The 20-year-old missile system is largely ineffective against high-speed cruise missiles, Friedman said.
The only time the missiles were fired in combat was in 1988, when a frigate sank an Iranian gunboat with an SM-1 missile. The only aircraft or missiles downed have been practice drones.
Even before the missiles were removed, the frigates' most potent weapons had been two Seahawk helicopters armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
In essence, by removing the missiles, frigates will become de facto helicopter carriers, Friedman said. "As a small helicopter carrier, it may make sense" to continue operating the frigates.
But, he added the launcher removal creates an image problem for the Navy.
"It looks semi-embarrassing," said Friedman, who has written extensively about naval subjects and history. "One friend calls them gelded."
Without a launcher or cannon up front, he said the warships will appear less menacing and less capable, which are important attributes for the world's pre-eminent naval force.
"A lot of what the Navy does is showing (American) power abroad," he added. "If foreign powers think the ships are a joke, that's not going to help."
Friedman noted that some smaller navies operate warships without a main gun or missile launcher on the bow.
"It's more of a macho thing to know you have a missile shooter," said Thach's Loeblein.
Without missiles, some sailors wonder if the Navy will also remove the "G" – for guided missile – from the frigates' designation.
"I'm just wondering if we'll be called an FF," said Thach crewman Patrick Pellerin, a petty officer second class. "If they do, we'll need to get new ball caps."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James W. Crawley:
(619) 542-4559; jim.crawley@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040102-9999_1m2frigate.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Upgrade to improve warships' effectiveness against small gunboats
By James W. Crawley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 2, 2004
Ever since the first modern battleship, Britain's Dreadnought, was built 97 years ago, American surface warships – battleships, cruisers, destroyers and frigates – have had one visible similarity: a menacing gun turret or missile launcher up front.
Until now.
The Navy is removing missile launchers from its 30 frigates, including five based in San Diego, in what the Pentagon says is a modernization and cost-cutting move.
The launchers, euphemistically known as "one-armed bandits" because of their single missile rail, are being lifted off the frigates' foredeck and steel plates welded over the deck.
One influential naval analyst suggested the launcher-less frigates are "semi-embarrassing" or "gelded."
Without the launchers, the Perry-class guided missile frigates, known by the Navy acronym FFG, will no longer be able to fire missiles at enemy aircraft or ships.
Instead, the warships will have to rely on two missile-toting helicopters on board, a 76 mm gun and a rapid-firing Gatling gun for offense and protection against hostile ships, aircraft and cruise missiles.
The removed missiles – anti-aircraft SM-1s and anti-ship Harpoons – don't provide much protection against cruise missiles and small, fast gunboats, said Cmdr. Jim Loeblein, skipper of the frigate Thach, which will have its launcher removed this month.
"I don't feel any less capable without the (missiles). It's a missile system that's had its time and now it's past," he said.
Existing naval tactics call for frigates to be escorts for carrier and expeditionary strike groups, which are also tended by cruisers and destroyers that provide an anti-aircraft umbrella over the entire flotilla.
Frigates will remain capable warships, until they are decommissioned in seven to 16 years, naval officials said. The warships were built in the 1970s and 1980s and are reaching the end of their 30-year life span. The Navy is also developing a class of small, high-speed warships that would operate in coastal areas.
Several frigates have had their launchers removed. All launchers will be gone by next fall.
Not having the missiles onboard will save training time and several crew positions will be cut from the ship's crew, Loeblein said. The reduced weight also will increase the ship's stability in heavy seas, he said.
Thach and the other frigates will get an upgrade to the Close-In Weapons System, known as Phalanx, that will install optical and infrared sights, in addition to its radar aiming system.
"It's very effective against small boats," said Cmdr. Dave Matawitz, a former frigate skipper who is overseeing the modernization program.
For now, the Phalanx, which uses a rapid-fire Gatling gun, is employed mainly against aerial targets.
A new missile decoy system will be added. Unlike the decoys now in service, which fire chaff rockets, the new system, called Nulka, uses an Australian-made rocket that electronically fakes out radar-guided cruise missiles.
The upgraded Phalanx weapons and Nulka decoys should be installed on all ships within three years, Matawitz said.
Frigates also will get new diesel electrical generators, reverse osmosis water purification systems and new small-boat davits, or raising and lowering devices.
The cost: about $8 million per frigate.
No estimates were available on total cost savings because most of the savings will be money not spent on maintenance; training and personnel for the missiles; and greater reliability from the new generators and water system, Navy officials said.
Naval analyst Norman Friedman said he believes the Navy is interested in reducing costs, especially for maintaining older, less-capable weapons on ships that will be decommissioned in coming years.
The 20-year-old missile system is largely ineffective against high-speed cruise missiles, Friedman said.
The only time the missiles were fired in combat was in 1988, when a frigate sank an Iranian gunboat with an SM-1 missile. The only aircraft or missiles downed have been practice drones.
Even before the missiles were removed, the frigates' most potent weapons had been two Seahawk helicopters armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.
In essence, by removing the missiles, frigates will become de facto helicopter carriers, Friedman said. "As a small helicopter carrier, it may make sense" to continue operating the frigates.
But, he added the launcher removal creates an image problem for the Navy.
"It looks semi-embarrassing," said Friedman, who has written extensively about naval subjects and history. "One friend calls them gelded."
Without a launcher or cannon up front, he said the warships will appear less menacing and less capable, which are important attributes for the world's pre-eminent naval force.
"A lot of what the Navy does is showing (American) power abroad," he added. "If foreign powers think the ships are a joke, that's not going to help."
Friedman noted that some smaller navies operate warships without a main gun or missile launcher on the bow.
"It's more of a macho thing to know you have a missile shooter," said Thach's Loeblein.
Without missiles, some sailors wonder if the Navy will also remove the "G" – for guided missile – from the frigates' designation.
"I'm just wondering if we'll be called an FF," said Thach crewman Patrick Pellerin, a petty officer second class. "If they do, we'll need to get new ball caps."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James W. Crawley:
(619) 542-4559; jim.crawley@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20040102-9999_1m2frigate.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: