“The plan is a framework and will be developed based on the emergence of new technologies, the budget allocated, and the actions of Russia and China,” said US Navy spokesman Vice Admiral Scott Conn.
In addition to the construction of new ships, the plan refers to the decommissioning of Ticonderoga-class cruisers by 2027 and the decommissioning of coastal warships by 2024 – the Independence and Freedom projects. It is noteworthy that these are new projects. So, two Independence-class coastal warships – Jackson (LCS-6) and Montgomery (LCS-8) were commissioned in 2015 and 2016, and in 2005 the Freedom project multipurpose ships were developed.
These projects were initially criticized in the United States. “Coastal warships were designed without reliable protection systems. The lack of firepower further weakened their credibility. Naval Technology wrote that the Pentagon is now betting on classic frigates and destroyers.
Retired captain of the first rank, doctor of military sciences Konstantin Sivkov explains the result of the Ticonderogs by age.
“The first such ships entered service in the early 1980s, they are already over 40 years old, in 2027 there will be 45, so it’s time to withdraw them from the fleet,” says the socialbites.ca expert. He adds that the Orly Borg destroyers will replace the Ticonderogi.
Overall, Sivkov described the US fleet development program as “very large”.
“This is a very large and comprehensive shipbuilding program on a scale comparable to China. This construction pace indicates that they need to launch 10 warships per year and withdraw other, older ships from the fleet. Prior to that, 1-2 large ships in the ocean region within 2-3 years they put the ship into operation,” explains Sivkov. Thus, if this plan is implemented, the Pentagon will speed up the construction of warships 20-30 times.
As Sivkov noted, the US Navy pays special attention to the construction of anti-submarine ships.
“Most likely, these will be small ships in terms of displacement, designed to solve the tasks of anti-submarine defense and patrolling in the area adjacent to the US coast. In addition, these may be surface submarine ships of the distant sea and ocean region, ”says Sivkov.
According to him, the SOSUS regional anti-submarine defense system, which gave the US Navy control over the oceanic space, does not work now – it was created more than 60 years ago and tracked submarines with infrared, and modern submarines survived. Infrasonic noise component so that the system does not “hear”.
Sivkov suggests that SOSUS can replace 80-100 patrolling naval robots, which can not only detect submarines, but also attack independently and direct anti-submarine aircraft at them. This would allow the US Navy to maintain control over the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
“UAVs are not a tribute to fashion. They are needed so that they can patrol the water area for a long time. The task is very simple – to detect a submarine and set up a pursuit for it, ”says Sivkov.
The new plan does not change the general concept of the US Navy. “As long as this is all compatible with what they have now – the aircraft carrier remains the main strike force of the American fleet, they will continue to dominate the ocean and sea areas,” Sivkov says.
Alexander Khramchikhin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, points out, in turn, that the plans and their implementation “may differ.”
“Every self-respecting country has to make separate plans for the construction and types of armed forces. Given the importance of the fleet to them, it’s only natural for the Americans to do the same. Therefore, it would be strange if this program did not exist.
But in our time it is difficult to predict 30 years. Maybe this should be done, but what will actually happen is a completely separate matter, ”says Khramchikhin.
Source: Gazeta
