3 ms·

I think the fear is that we don’t have 20 years to spend on this ship, the F-35, etc. Eg, fixing the problems with the M16 wasn’t that hard: chrome the chamber

I think the fear is that we don’t have 20 years to spend on this ship, the F-35, etc. Eg, fixing the problems with the M16 wasn’t that hard: chrome the chamber and change the training program fixed a lot for very little cost and without too many casualties (you can always pull m14s out of inventory!) Not so with an aircraft carrier, destroyer (rounds for the Zumwalt will never be made), and maybe the F35 will only occasionally decapitate it’s pilots

credit_guy 7y ago
> rounds for the Zumwalt will never be made You can look at this as an example of how bad things are, or how good things are. For those who don't know, the Zumwalt class of destroyers is equipped with a special 155mm gun that can fire projectiles up to 160 km [1]. This gun can only fire a certain type of rounds that were produced and tested, but they turned out to be much more expensive than initially projected (by a factor of about 25, from $35k to $900k) [2]. The Navy decided to cancel the order, and to pivot [3]. "The Navy announced in February in budget justification documents that it intended to integrate Raytheon’s SM-6 missile and was changing the mission from a land-attack platform to a ship killer. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s seapower subcommittee, Vice Adm. Bill Merz told senators that the slow development of the AGS prompted the change. [...] The Navy has moved ahead with a plan to add SM-6 on to Zumwalt, which allows the Navy to engage surface targets and extremely long ranges among other missions. In August, the Navy shot down a medium-range ballistic missile target with the SM-6, which uses a fragmenting explosion near its target as the kill mechanism." In Silicon Valley people generally appreciate a good pivot, so some people may appreciate this one too. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gun_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gun_System [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Land_Attack_Projectile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Land_Attack_Project... [3] https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/04/19/advanced-gun-system-was-holding-back-the-navys-new-stealth-destroyer/ https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/04/19/advanced-gun-sy...
- frankharv 7y ago
  CASREP[0] in the ditch was pretty funny to me [0]https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2016/11/22/destroyer-zumwalt-breaks-down-and-gets-tow-in-panama-canal/ https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2016/11/22/destroye...
- greedo 7y ago
  The cost for AGS ammunition skyrocketed because the DDG-1000 purchase was truncated to three ships. Had we purchased all 32, the unit cost of the rounds would have been acceptable.

credit_guy 7y ago

> rounds for the Zumwalt will never be made You can look at this as an example of how bad things are, or how good things are. For those who don't know, the Zumwalt class of destroyers is equipped with a special 155mm gun that can fire projectiles up to 160 km [1]. This gun can only fire a certain type of rounds that were produced and tested, but they turned out to be much more expensive than initially projected (by a factor of about 25, from $35k to $900k) [2]. The Navy decided to cancel the order, and to pivot [3]. "The Navy announced in February in budget justification documents that it intended to integrate Raytheon’s SM-6 missile and was changing the mission from a land-attack platform to a ship killer. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s seapower subcommittee, Vice Adm. Bill Merz told senators that the slow development of the AGS prompted the change. [...] The Navy has moved ahead with a plan to add SM-6 on to Zumwalt, which allows the Navy to engage surface targets and extremely long ranges among other missions. In August, the Navy shot down a medium-range ballistic missile target with the SM-6, which uses a fragmenting explosion near its target as the kill mechanism." In Silicon Valley people generally appreciate a good pivot, so some people may appreciate this one too. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gun_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gun_System [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Land_Attack_Projectile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Land_Attack_Project... [3] https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/04/19/advanced-gun-system-was-holding-back-the-navys-new-stealth-destroyer/ https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/04/19/advanced-gun-sy...

frankharv 7y ago
CASREP[0] in the ditch was pretty funny to me [0]https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2016/11/22/destroyer-zumwalt-breaks-down-and-gets-tow-in-panama-canal/ https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2016/11/22/destroye...
greedo 7y ago
The cost for AGS ammunition skyrocketed because the DDG-1000 purchase was truncated to three ships. Had we purchased all 32, the unit cost of the rounds would have been acceptable.