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SINKING FORTUNE

Spain just spent $680 million on a submarine that can’t swim

By Roberto A. Ferdman @robferdman May 21, 2013

One of Spain’s largest defense splurges may also be one of its most embarrassing. After spending nearly one-third of a $3 billion budget to build four of the world’s most advanced submarines, the project’s engineers have run into a problem: the submarines are so heavy that they would sink to the bottom of the ocean.

Miscalculations by engineers at Navantia, the construction company contracted to built the S-80 submarine fleet, have produced submarines that are each as much as 100 tonnes (110 US tonnes) too heavy. The excess weight sounds paltry compared to the 2,000-plus tonnes (2,205 US tonnes) that each submarine weighs, but it’s more than enough to send the submarines straight to the ocean’s floor.

Given the mistake, Spain is going to have to choose between two costly fixes: slimming the submarines down, or elongating them to compensate for the extra fat. All signs point to the latter, which will be anything but a breeze—adding length will still require redesigning the entire vessel. And more money on top of the $680 million already spent.

Spain’s defense ministry, the government arm responsible for overseeing the project, has yet to say how much the setback will cost in both time and money. But Navantia has already estimated that its mistake will set the project back at least one or, more likely, two years. And the Spanish edition of European news site The Local reported that each additional meter added to the S-80s, already 71 meters in length, will cost over $9 million.

It’s a costly mistake on many fronts. The state-of-the-art submarines were meant to be the first entirely Spanish-designed and built. Incompetence is likely going to cost the country at least some of the glory. Electric Boat, a subsidiary of US-based technology firm General Dynamics, has already evaluated the project and could be hired as a consultant to save the job.

Another bailout for Spain. This is getting all too familiar.

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delft said:

I just came across this horror story:

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German assault rifle for long battle unfit
Material problems in the army: After a long battle rifle G36 is so hot shot that opponents can no longer be treated properly at a distance of only 200 meters.
The Bundeswehr has found so far as known through studies of their standard G36 rifle broader problems. Reportedly the "Bild" newspaper, citing an internal document from the Ministry of Defence , have test results of the WTD alerted the armed forces.

The problems with the G36 set from a military perspective represents a significant deficiency and be of considerable use relevance.

In a review of the WTD the Bundeswehr it is, according to newspaper: "All previously examined 89 G36 show in hot closed state, a change of the central meeting place and a widening of the circle of confusion so that an opponent will not be fought safely at a distance of 200 meters can. "

Already a few weeks before the "Mirror" reported, the G36 is not fully suitable for long firefights .

The Bundeswehr prompted further investigation.

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WASHINGTON — Construction contracts worth more than $6 billion were awarded Monday to shipbuilders General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls to build nine new DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the US Navy announced, with an option for a tenth ship.

The awards keep destroyer construction humming at a pace that has been maintained since the DDG 51 class was restarted in 2009.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) received a $3,331,476,001 fixed-price-incentive firm target (FPIF) contract for the design and construction of five ships, one each in fiscal 2013 to 2017, the Navy said in a press release. The ships will all be built at the company’s Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) was awarded a $2,843,385,450 FPIF contract for the design and construction of four ships, one in 2013 and one each in 2015 to 2017. The award also includes a contract option for a fifth ship, which, if approved, about be added to 2014.

The Navy officially has asked Congress to fund one ship in 2014, but is seeking multi-year procurement (MYP) authority to add a second ship in 2014, hence the option for another ship. Congress is generally disposed to support adding the ship, and the service, in a press release, said it is working with Capitol Hill “to resolve funding shortfalls resulting from sequestration reductions before contracting the tenth ship.”

HII received the five-ship MYP award due to a lower bid, which works out to about $666 million per ship. BIW’s four-ship award comes to nearly $711 million per ship.

The contract awards do not include high-priced government-furnished equipment (GFE) bought separately by the Navy. GFE includes such major items as the Aegis combat system and all weapon systems.

The construction awards, Navy said, are based on “a competitive allocation strategy used in the DDG 51 class shipbuilding program since 1996. Known as profit related to offers, or PRO, [the strategy] uses FPIF contracts to ensure reasonable prices while maintaining the industrial base.

“Congressional approval for the use of MYP contracts facilitated program budget savings of more than $1.5 billion while enabling the shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers to more efficiently plan future workloads,” the Navy said in its press release.

The nine-ship MYP awarded June 3 includes hull numbers DDG 117 through 125. The addition of a tenth ship would extend the contract through DDG 126.

Two ships already are funded in 2013, the Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), which will be built at Ingalls, and the Bath-build Daniel Inouye (DDG 118).

The yet-to-be-named DDG 119, requested in the 2014 budget, will be built at Ingalls.

Initially, the new ships will be built to the Flight IIA version of the Arleigh Burke class, to which all ships since DDG 79 have been completed.

Starting with the second ship in 2016, however, a significant addition, the new Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), will be introduced to replace the SPY-1D radars in current ships. The AMDR, which will continue to work with the Aegis combat system, will have greater capabilities for the ballistic missile defense role, but also will require greater installed power and other design changes.

An AMDR contractor has yet to be chosen, although later this year the Navy is expected to select a radar from either Lockheed Martin, Raytheon or Northrop Grumman.

The switch to the Flight III will be contractually handled as an “engineering change proposal,” the Navy said.

It is not yet decided which hull, or which shipbuilder, will handle the first Flight III ship. Should Congress fund only one ship in 2014, Ingalls would also get DDG 120 in 2015, with DDG 121 going to Bath. That would work out to Bath building the first AMDR ship, which would be DDG 123.

Should the second 2014 ship be added, DDG 120 would become a Bath ship, and the second 2016 ship would become DDG 124, built at Ingalls.

It is also possible construction of the first AMDR ship could slide and be awarded at a later date, although that is not now the Navy’s intention.

Bath Iron Works continues as the DDG 51 program’s lead design shipyard, a position it has held since the 1980s.

Arleigh Burke destroyers currently under construction include the John Finn (DDG 113) and Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) at Ingalls, and the Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) and Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) at Bath.

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

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Deutsches Sturmgewehr für langen Kampf untauglich
Materialprobleme bei der Bundeswehr: Nach einem längeren Gefecht ist das Gewehr G36 so heiß geschossen, dass Gegner in einer Entfernung von nur 200 Metern nicht mehr richtig bekämpft werden können.Die Bundeswehr hat durch Untersuchungen bei ihrem Standardgewehr G36 weitreichendere Probleme festgestellt als bislang bekannt. Wie die "Bild"-Zeitung unter Berufung auf ein internes Papier aus dem Verteidigungsministerium berichtet, haben Prüfungsergebnisse der Wehrtechnischen Dienststelle die Bundeswehr alarmiert.

Die Probleme mit dem G36 stellten aus militärischer Sicht einen erheblichen Mangel dar und seien von erheblicher Einsatzrelevanz.

In einer Bewertung der Wehrtechnischen Dienststelle der Bundeswehr heißt es laut Zeitung: "Alle bisher untersuchten 89 G36 zeigen im heiß geschossenen Zustand eine Veränderung des mittleren Treffpunkts und eine Aufweitung des Streukreises derart, dass ein Gegner in einer Entfernung von 200 Metern nicht mehr sicher bekämpft werden kann."

Bereits vor einigen Wochen hatte der "Spiegel" berichtet, das G36 sei für längere Feuergefechte nicht voll geeignet.

Die Bundeswehr veranlasste weitere Untersuchungen
google translate



Errr I need to transalate the Translation

Okay So here it is in a nut shell. I have prepared the fallowing graphic With the help of Doctor noob.
This is a G36c the short barrel version popular with movies. The upper is the complete version.
The second is Where we start to get to the guts of the matter.

1. The Slime lime is The polymer "Universal" Recever assembly It houses the bolt. It's made of Polymer which causes the first heat issue as when it starts to heat up it can become soft and loose it's true form
2 is the bolt face This is a fairly common bolt configuration almost Identical to the Ar15 series.
3 See that Red part that is the barrel Trunion It's the device that mates a Barrel to the recerver it's usialy steel it can get every hot after emptying a few magazines

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bd popeye said:

More Arleigh Burke DDGs are on the way!

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Equation said:

I bet they can even extend the barrel without compromising the overall length of the rifle by going "bull pup" style magazine fed and firing. You think?

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