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Print Edition StoriesFriday, August 8, 2008
How We See It
Navy right to rein in new destroyer
By Mass High Tech Staff
NECN: Robots mimic tuna-like movement
The U.S. Navy’s proposal to scale back the number of new, high-tech DDG-1000 destroyers being built to just two will clearly have an impact on one of the program’s largest contractors, Raytheon Co., as well as dozens of New England subcontractors, as we report on in this issue.
The Navy has stated that increasing costs were a big factor in the proposal to cut the DDG-1000 program to the bone. According to a House Armed Services Committee report, the ships had gone from an initial cost estimate of $1.4 billion each to as much as $3.3 billion each.
But perhaps of even greater concern are the reports from various outside naval warfare experts that the ships could possibly not function right. Defense News cited the poor history of the “tumblehome” design of the hull with regard to stability in high seas. And the original propulsion system has already been changed, as it was too novel to be ready in time.
The House report praised the new technologies being used in the ships but said they weren’t all ready to be contained in one platform. We agree and think that, despite the potential loss to local defense contractors, a pair of ships to prove such a radically new system works is a good idea, before tens of billions of dollars get committed to a fleet of them.
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