Northrop Offers NSC-based Vessel To Fill LCS Delays

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3302202&C=navwar

By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS


The U.S. Navy is stumbling to build the ship it wants -- the Littoral
Combat Ship (LCS) -- so shipbuilder Northrop Grumman is urging the
service to turn to a ship it can get sooner and cheaper: a patrol
frigate version of the Coast Guard's National Security Cutter (NSC).
"We have listened to what the Navy has said -- to be more efficient, be
innovative and produce affordable and capable ships," said Phil Teel,
president of Northrop's Ship Systems sector. "The patrol frigate is a
response to that, and to the Navy's new National Maritime Strategy."
Northrop's analysts have studied remarks and themes oft repeated by
senior Navy leaders and concluded a de facto requirement exists for a
frigate-size ship capable of handling a range of low- and mid-
intensity missions. Those missions, said Eric Womble, head of Ship
Systems' Advanced Capabilities Group, are detailed in the Navy's new
Maritime Strategy and include forward presence, deterrence, sea
control, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster
response.
"You don't want a high-end Aegis ship to handle those missions,"
Womble said, "you want something cheaper and smaller."
The National Security Cutter (NSC) as configured for the Coast Guard
could easily handle those roles, Womble said.
The first NSC, the Bertholf, successfully carried out its initial
trials in early December and will be commissioned this year by the
Coast Guard. Womble said a Navy version would avoid the first-of-class
issues that have plagued numerous Navy programs, including both
designs being built for the LCS competition.
Northrop in late December began briefing select Navy leaders on its
unsolicited proposal. The company is taking pains to avoid presenting
the ship as an LCS alternative, instead calling it an LCS
"complement," which is being built under a competition between
Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics.
Key features of Northrop's concept are:
The ship is based on a proven design already under construction.
The NSC's weapons, sensors and systems already have a high degree of
commonality with Navy systems, increasing affordability.
While the NSC is 15 knots slower than the 45-knot LCS, the cutter can
stay at sea up to two months, much longer than the LCS.
Northrop is claiming it can deliver the first ship at the end of 2012
at an average cost of less than $400 million per ship, exclusive of
government-furnished equipment, in fiscal 2007 dollars. That's close
to the $403 million contract cost of the third NSC, which incorporates
all current design upgrades.
A major element of Northrop's proposal, Womble said, is that the Navy
should make no changes to the current Block 0 design. "That's the only
way we can deliver the ship at this price."
The design, however, has plenty of room for upgrades, Womble claimed,
and Northrop is proposing future upgrades be handled in groups, or
blocks, of ships, rather than modifying individual ones. Those
upgrades could include non-line-of-sight missiles, SeaRAM missile
launchers and more capabilities to handle unmanned systems. The design
even has room for an LCS-like reconfigurable mission area under the
flight deck, he claimed.
Northrop admits the ships are deficient in one significant Navy
requirement: full compatibility with the Naval Vessel Rules (NVR),
essentially building codes developed by the Naval Sea Systems Command
and the American Bureau of Shipping. The belated application of the
NVR to both LCS designs was a major factor in the cost growth on those
ships.
Most of the NSC design already is NVR-compatible, Womble said, but
upgrading the entire design to NVR standards would involve a
fundamental redesign and eliminate the proposal's cost and
construction time attributes.
"We'd need a waiver [from the NVR rules] to make this proposal work,"
he said.
Navy Response: 'No Requirement'
The official response from the Navy to Northrop's proposal so far is
unenthusiastic.
"There is currently no requirement for such a combatant," said Lt.
Clay Doss, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon. The Navy's other surface
ship programs, he said, "address specific requirements."
Doss did note that "the Navy and Coast Guard have considered a common
platform for the LCS and the Coast Guard's National Security Cutter.
However, due to the unique mission requirements of each service, a
common hull is not a likely course of action."
Problems with the LCS have caused some observers to predict the
program's demise, but the Navy "is completely committed to the LCS
program," Doss said. "We need 55 Littoral Combat Ships sooner rather
than later, and we need them now to fulfill critical, urgent war-
fighting gaps."
Northrop however, is not alone in proposing the NSC as an LCS
alternative. Coast Guard Capt. James Howe, writing in the current
issue of the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings magazine, is urging
Navy leaders to consider the NSC.
"I think the Navy should look at it," he said Jan. 10. "Northrop is
building a naval combatant here. It has standard U.S. Navy weapon
systems as part of its packages. Its communications are interoperable.
It can handle underway replenishment. If there's a possibility it
could be a cost saver or a good deal for the Navy, it needs to be
explored."
Howe, who said he was unaware of Northrop's patrol frigate proposal,
agreed the NSC is capable of further enhancements. "There's a lot of
space on that ship," he said.
'Potential Game-changer'
Northrop likely is facing an uphill battle with its patrol frigate, as
the Navy culturally prefers to dictate requirements based on its own
analysis.
But the Navy is having trouble defending the affordability of its
shipbuilding plan to Congress and bringing programs in on budget. One
congressional source noted the service "can't admit their plan won't
work." An unsolicited proposal, the source said, "opens the way for
someone else to come up with a potential game-changer."
Northrop's plan, the source said, may be an unexpected opportunity.
"Northrop is listening to the people who have been criticizing the
Navy's shipbuilding plan," the source said. "They've gotten a sense
that maybe the Navy is looking for a solution, and the Navy can't
produce a solution because it might be too embarrassing."
One more aspect that could be at work in the Northrop proposal: "I
think there's something coy going on here," the source said. "They may
be promoting this as an LCS complement, but their idea might be part
of a strategic plan to replace the LCS."

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