Aircraft Carriers III

Jeff Head

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Naval Today said:
Work has begun to revamp facilities in Portsmouth Naval Base so it can accommodate Britain’s biggest warships.

It will take 18 months and £34m (about USD 53 million) to turn the 90-year-old structure at Middle Slip Jetty into 21st Century moorings meeting all the needs of Britain’s future flagship.

In due course, the more modern Victory Jetty – in the shadow of Nelson’s legendary namesake man o’war – will also be improved so that both 65,000-tonne leviathans can be in port simultaneously.

HMS Queen Elizabeth – currently being fitted out at Rosyth dockyard in Scotland – is due to make her debut in Portsmouth in early 2017.

Around £100m investment in the base and harbour is required to prepare the base for her arrival.

The year and half of work carried out by construction firm VolkerStevin – who also built the new ammunition facility in Portsmouth Harbour to meet the needs of the six Type 45 destroyers based in the city – will see hundreds of tonnes of steel installed and concrete poured to replace or enhance the existing jetty.

And in December eight months of dredging begins to deepen the main channel used by shipping by one metre – the carriers will have a draught of 11m (36ft), the same as post-war battleship HMS Vanguard – and treble its width.

It will take 18 months and £34m (about USD 53 million) to turn the 90-year-old structure at Middle Slip Jetty into 21st Century moorings meeting all the needs of Britain’s future flagship.

In due course, the more modern Victory Jetty – in the shadow of Nelson’s legendary namesake man o’war – will also be improved so that both 65,000-tonne leviathans can be in port simultaneously.

HMS Queen Elizabeth – currently being fitted out at Rosyth dockyard in Scotland – is due to make her debut in Portsmouth in early 2017.

Around £100m investment in the base and harbour is required to prepare the base for her arrival.

The year and half of work carried out by construction firm VolkerStevin – who also built the new ammunition facility in Portsmouth Harbour to meet the needs of the six Type 45 destroyers based in the city – will see hundreds of tonnes of steel installed and concrete poured to replace or enhance the existing jetty.

And in December eight months of dredging begins to deepen the main channel used by shipping by one metre – the carriers will have a draught of 11m (36ft), the same as post-war battleship HMS Vanguard – and treble its width.

“This programme confirms the future of Portsmouth Naval Base for thenext 50 to 80 years. It will be the only port which can fully support HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales and meet all their needs”, said Capt Iain Greenlees, the base’s head of infrastructure.

The jetty structure from the 1920s – an layer of concrete up to one metre thick sitting atop a complex lattice network – will be torn down and replaced as it has reached the end of its life, that from the 1970s can be strengthened.

New communications cables, a high-voltage electrical supply, improved fresh water piping will also be installed.

“The new aircraft carriers will be bigger than anything before – and so everything which services them needs to be bigger as well to meet the demands,” said Rob Coupe, managing direction of VolkerStevin who have around 75 people currently working on the project.

Also still to come as part of the improvement project are around a dozen navigational aids – those planted in the harbour will be 150ft high – to help the captain, bridge team and pilot to bring the carriers safely alongside.

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alternate carrier study resurfaced (I put one sentence in boldface):
CNO Nominee Richardson: Ford Carrier Cost Growth ‘Unacceptable’
The presumptive next head of the Navy called the billions in cost growth for the service’s next generation aircraft carrier program “unacceptable” during his Thursday nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC).

Adm. John Richardson, the current director of Naval Reactors and nominee to be the next Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), echoed the sentiments of SASC chair Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the more than 20 percent cost growth in the first-in-class Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and higher than estimated costs in the follow-on ships.

Since the $10.5 billion estimate for Ford in 2008, the cost of the first ship has risen to almost $13 billion.

Naval Sea Systems Command PEO Carriers has said about 40 percent of the cost growth has been due to developmental delays in government furnished equipment (GFE) — including General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) and well as Raytheon’s
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— and 60 percent due to additional design work and construction performance.

McCain, a frequent and vocal critic of the Ford-class program’s cost growth, highlighted the ongoing carrier development his opening statement.

“This program continues to be plagued by technology immaturity, concurrent development and production and a lack of reliability test data for critical systems,” he said.
“This is unacceptable. I repeat, unacceptable, and I fully expect the Navy’s ongoing study of alternative aircraft carrier designs to provide real options.”

Richardson agreed.

“I share your concern about the cost overruns of the carrier, and I agree with you that they are unacceptable,” he said.
“And if confirmed, I look forward to being very involved in the acquisition.”

McCain is championing a measure in the current defense bill that would give the CNO more authority in the carrier acquisition program.

Richardson, a career submariner, also said he supported the Navy’s ongoing alternate carrier study.

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, the little advertised examination is said to take a hard look at alternatives to the U.S. nuclear carrier to project an equivalent amount of aviation assets.

“Is there a sweet spot, something different other than today’s 100,000 ton carrier that would make sense to provide the power projection that we need that we get today from our aircraft carriers but at the same time put us in a more affordable position to provide that capability?,” Sean Stackley — Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition (RDA) — said before a Senate panel in March.

Currently, the Navy has determined only Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News shipyard the only facility capable of building nuclear carriers.
and the article goes on with the SSBN-related discussion; source:
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Jeff Head

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Huntington Ingalls Shipyard said:
Newport News August 3, 2015 - Huntington Ingalls Industries reached a major milestone on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) today as the ship's crew moved aboard and ate its first meal prepared in the galley. The first-in-class carrier is in the final stages of construction and testing at HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division.

"This is a rewarding time for the shipbuilders who have worked for the past six years to complete the systems and compartments needed to support the crew as they move aboard," said Rolf Bartschi, Newport News' vice president, CVN 78 carrier construction. "The ship we are building will be their home and will serve the Navy and the nation's need in defense of our country for the next 50 years."

Ship's Sponsor Susan Ford Bales helped serve a meal of prime rib, crab legs, shrimp, salmon and a 7-foot-long cake made to look like an aircraft carrier. The galley and associated messing areas were redesigned for Gerald R. Ford and future Ford-class carriers, offering a new layout that provides more space and greater efficiency for sailors as they prepare for meals. The serving lines and messing areas are arranged to offer significant quality-of-life improvements compared to Nimitz-class carriers.

"This is the tipping point for Ford," said Capt. John F. Meier, CVN 78's commanding officer.

"Currently pierside in Newport News, we have water under our hull, and 1,600-plus sailors are eating, sleeping and working aboard. Our crew is fully aligned with Newport News Shipbuilding in executing the test program to deliver Gerald R. Ford next spring."

Ford is designed to house a crew of up to 4,660 sailors who will benefit from quality-of-life improvements in the ship's design. Compared to Nimitz-class carriers with berthing units that sleep up to 200 sailors, Ford will have quieter berthing areas sleeping no more than 86 people. Each berthing features an adjoining washroom. Sailors will also have access to separate recreation areas, multiple gymnasiums and more air conditioning.

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navyreco

Senior Member
Official: France and Russia Reached an Agreement for the Non Delivery of the 2 Mistral Class LHDs
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The sensitive case of the non-delivery of two Mistral class LHDs to Russia reached an end tonight, after eight months of intense negotiations. According to an official press release from the French presidency, France and Russia reached an agreement.
...
Under this agreement:
- The Russian Federation is exclusively and fully reimbursed of the sums advanced under the contract;
- Russian equipment that were installed on the vessels will be taken off board and given back to Russia;
- France will have full ownership and free disposal of the two vessels.
President Hollande and Mr Putin welcomed the friendly and open atmosphere of partnership that marked the negotiations.
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