The Washington Independent - Latest Comments in A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

Bible Study Man — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:52:25 -0000

Shallow water in Vietname and WWII was controlled by gun boats and PT boats. Perhaps, light and fast is still the best answer. Stealth? I doubt that coastal snipers and shoulder-launched rockets are relying on radar to detect the presence of big ships.

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

cloakanddaggarbaby — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:33:01 -0000

DDG 1000 is not ship shape. A traditional sea hull has a "V" shape which utilizes hydrostatic forces to keep the ship upright. The DDG 100 has an "A" shape to bounce radar off - stealth - and consequently no hydrostatic forces to help keep it up right.

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

Robin, Frank — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:41:50 -0000

The consequences of such a move would be enormous. After all, the Navy’s own Maritime Strategy, published last year, emphasized that “lifeblood” global trade “relies on free transit through increasingly urbanized littoral regions.”

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

Gordon Moore — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:25:38 -0000

We need to fix the economy. when there is only so much money you have to use it wisely. From my college days I remember that the Multiplier Theorem states that the ratio for moving the money around is greater when we spend money on industries that produce domestic goods instead of "Military" goods. We're not going to be able to bomb Hamas out of existance it's much cheaper and wiser to negotiate with these people and continue negotiating.

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

Jaycal — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:04:13 -0000

So just why does the Navy need to increase it's number of front-line ships by 15%? Are we afraid that Russia might revive the old Soviet Navy and threaten our costal waters?

I'd also like to see what, if any, role the Air Force or Naval air support would fulfill in the littoral regions... why plunk down probably 100+ sailors to sit in a near-shore situation where they'd be accessible to most land-based forms of attack, when we can utilize air support with 1/10th or less the manpower and even less risk?

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

Gene Ha — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:39:17 -0000

I'm no defense geek or Navy veteran, but the Zumwalt just sounds crazy. To defend shallow waters the obvious solution is to use smaller, lighter ships. They won't need as deep of water and they won't form a huge, aircraft carrier sized target that'd be indefensible against a coordinated assault by exactly the kind of missiles Hezbollah used. Giving 'stealth' capability to something that big is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If you need more firepower, add two older destroyers for half the price further out, or an aircraft carrier to provide air support. But keep the big ships far from shore.

I could be wrong, but this article assumes the Zumwalt is the natural solution without explaining why. Google provides lots of commentators who disagree. The impression I get from the article is that Congress is trying to protect contractors in their districts.

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

ohwilleke — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:59:34 -0000

There is nothing mysterious about the action by Congress to kill the program. It was over budget to an extent never seen before in Navy history, behind schedule and didn't do what it was supposed to do. Few project kills have been easier.

Also, the DDG-1000 fills a role, of sea based fire support, that only makes sense if it is more affordable than cruise misiles. That was originally the plan, but didn't work out.

Finally, the LCS while troubled, is not as troubled and can fill many coastal warship roles.

Now, one could call the incompetence of the contractor mysterious, but that would be contrary to known facts, history and all good sense.

Re: A $50-Billion Warship Mystery

John_Crandell — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:55:50 -0000

Yes, by all means, we must be able to control 'shallow water' all around the globe, now and forever.

The biggest surprize about all this is that months before the fall election, that anyone within the defense procurement establishment said no and shut off the spigot.

On second thought, what might they REALLY want instead? Let's see: an airborne PT boat powered by corn-based ethanol capable of being piloted ONLY by a certified bible-banging fanatic out of Colorado Springs. Yessiree, gou gotta bang that bible to get your wings these days!