Haven't Kicked the LCS in Balls in while....

[kham]

From last month in Aviation Week

The mere fact that it's in goddamned AVIATION Week is telling. As for other things, the Navy is unable, unwilling, incapable or just too fucking retarded to buy off-the shelf plans, or whole damned ships from other nations; there are a score of designs that would fulfill the FF role. Which of course the pencilnecked retards decided they dont need anymore. Until now. And trying to fob off these aluminum death sleds as frigates just aint happening. So they are stuck in the middle between "cant admit we were fucking morons from day one" and " cant dare buy something thats not built HERE"

[Mynock]

Nobody wants to admit their baby is ugly. Especially someone who just spent several billion tax payer dollars giving birth to that baby.

[Duncan Edwards]

From last month in Aviation Week

The mere fact that it's in goddamned AVIATION Week is telling. As for other things, the Navy is unable, unwilling, incapable or just too fucking retarded to buy off-the shelf plans, or whole damned ships from other nations; there are a score of designs that would fulfill the FF role. Which of course the pencilnecked retards decided they dont need anymore. Until now. And trying to fob off these aluminum death sleds as frigates just aint happening. So they are stuck in the middle between "cant admit we were fucking morons from day one" and " cant dare buy something thats not built HERE"

The once mighty US ship building industry is limited to building virtually nothing but ships for the US Navy. For a lot of practical and political reasons about preserving votes and a dwindling industrial base there will never be serious foreign built ships. If you license a design that happens to match a particular mission then it's going to have to be outfitted with US weapons and sensors. By the time you get done with that you've probably built a ship nobody wants or costs too much anyway. The US has all the technical means to build great ships but the problems are brought out by no longer having a clear mission. Are we fighting Iranian speedboats in the straits of Hormuz? Confronting the Chinese? Escorting convoys against Russian bombers and subs? Projecting power ashore? We had great focus when our biggest concern was dealing with the Soviets back in the bad old days. I suppose we should be grateful that a lack of real enemies at sea has confused things. We all know someday that luck will run out and we'll have to gain focus again at great expense in blood and treasure. Hopefully we'll still be up to the task.

[Mynock]

Yea, can we at least not outsource the military? Be nice to know there's at least one career left in this country that won't end with you training Apu to be your replacement.

[kham]

All you need is the plans, and the design, which you can get the licence for. Build them here, and insert the appropriate hardware as needed. Plus, it's not like some weapons systems are made elsewhere for use (Bofors, missile components and systems, countless small arms, etc) The problem is BuShips is utterly unwilling to even CONSIDER doing that. Which is into the realm of complete retarded stupidity. We talking Mk14 Torpedo political backsheesh fuckup levels. The kind that down the road is going to get sailors killed

[nachtjaeger]

The level of incompetence and graft amazes me. It's like watching a construction project in NYC- a graceful ballet of orchestrated moves of men, material, and equipment, which in sum accomplish absolutely nothing. Apparently I'm not the only one thinking outside the box. Was just looking for a pic of a SWATH hull ship of the appropriate size to describe what I have in mind, and it turns out Taiwan is already working on it:

Taiwan stealth SWATH warship.jpg

Here's the article: http://wuxinghongqi.blogspot.com/2011/05/taiwan-to-build-twin.html

My design is wider and lower, scaled up to the Panamax specs (950' LOA x 100' beam x ~35' draft) - would definitely be lower than Panamax height of 190 feet, especially with the retractable communications masts stowed. The hull should have plenty of room for an epically large VLS battery, a main battery of recreated 8"/L55 Mark 71 autoloading guns, a secondary battery of those sweet French 100mm automatic guns, and an AA/nuisance battery of the same 76mm rapid-fire cannon as the pictured Taiwanese ship has.

[kham]

Dont leave out Boston and their Big Fucking Ditch that took, what? Quarter -century to do? And then theres the California High-speed rail to fucking nowhere...


Your addition of 203mm guns kills it on the table. It's been I literally dont know how long they been fucking with the 155mm piece for the DDG-1000 thing, and they STILL havent got it right. It's barely certified for hitting shore targets. And utterly incapable of targeting ship targets. There is no Gun Club anymore in the Navy. That sort of experience once gone, is gone forever. Unless you start from scratch, and spend a couple decades growing the culture. That was one of primary reasons for the Iowa explosion; you had a collection of fuckwits who just knew enough to be dangerous. Never has a truer saying been a little knowledge is a dangerous thing

[nachtjaeger]

I suppose I could live with the French 100mm guns being the main battery. I did some more reading up on the Mark 71 gun system. According to navweaps.com, the system actually worked. 1970s electronics wouldn't let it hit a bunker, a stationary truck or a moving tank at 13,000 yards, but the Paveway Guided Projectile did hit 5 for 5 on a destroyer hulk at between 13k and 16k yards. The Spruance class Destroyers were originally designed for the Mark 71 before it was cancelled. They ended up with the 5" Mark 45s instead. Damn, if we keep scrapping ships and then cancelling their replacements, we'll have no escorts for the flattops.

The "Big Dig" is legendary. And I just read an article that CA started construction of Phase 1 of the HSR roadbed in January- but they don't have all the ROW yet, even though they issued the bonds in 2008. How freakin' stupid was that? At least here in New York, when we do Federally funded projects, FHWA won't let us go to bid until we certify we have all the ROW we need. Now NYC says the initial estimate of $1 billion for the new Port Authority Bus Terminal was off- by 110%. They're talking $11 billion, which translates to "We don't want this project, even though we need to do it, so let's jack up the estimates so it looks impossibly expensive." (The opposite applies to projects they want- low-ball the estimates.)

Dont leave out Boston and their Big Fucking Ditch that took, what? Quarter -century to do? And then theres the California High-speed rail to fucking nowhere...


Your addition of 203mm guns kills it on the table. It's been I literally dont know how long they been fucking with the 155mm piece for the DDG-1000 thing, and they STILL havent got it right. It's barely certified for hitting shore targets. And utterly incapable of targeting ship targets. There is no Gun Club anymore in the Navy. That sort of experience once gone, is gone forever. Unless you start from scratch, and spend a couple decades growing the culture. That was one of primary reasons for the Iowa explosion; you had a collection of fuckwits who just knew enough to be dangerous. Never has a truer saying been a little knowledge is a dangerous thing

[Fred588]

Dont leave out Boston and their Big Fucking Ditch that took, what? Quarter -century to do? And then theres the California High-speed rail to fucking nowhere...


Your addition of 203mm guns kills it on the table. It's been I literally dont know how long they been fucking with the 155mm piece for the DDG-1000 thing, and they STILL havent got it right. It's barely certified for hitting shore targets. And utterly incapable of targeting ship targets. There is no Gun Club anymore in the Navy. That sort of experience once gone, is gone forever. Unless you start from scratch, and spend a couple decades growing the culture. That was one of primary reasons for the Iowa explosion; you had a collection of fuckwits who just knew enough to be dangerous. Never has a truer saying been a little knowledge is a dangerous thing

through

Since I am from Boston and have relatives there still I can attest that although the Big Dig ended up way over budget, and I mean WAY over, the overwhelming majority of people there are thrilled with the result and would do it again. Since it was completed, when I arrive at Logan Airport and take an express bus to the northern suburb where my relatives live, the trip takes 20 to 25 minutes and the route takes the bus INTO the downtown area AND back out. Except during rush hour you can drive north to south the center of the city like it was not even there.