Chapter 1583 The Royal Navy feels that it can do it again

Later in the day.

Bath Iron Shipyard, Maryland.

Inside the huge No. 1002 indoor plant, the groundbreaking ceremony for the third Zumwalt-class ship, USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-), is being held.

The scene was brightly lit, yet at the same time, it had a formulaic dullness.

A number of senior naval officials, led by U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, were present, surrounded by representatives from core suppliers such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, BAE and Rolls-Royce, which was enough to show the importance attached to this ship.

Daniel Kim, head of Bath Iron Works, stood in the spotlight as the keynote speaker.

His voice echoed through the microphone in the spacious factory:

"…The DDG-1000 program represents the future of the U.S. Navy’s surface combatants, and its revolutionary design will underpin our maritime dominance for the next century…"

"..."

“A special thanks to Huntington Ingalls Industries for their outstanding contribution to modular construction technology and Rolls-Royce for providing the strong impetus…”

However, the attention of most people in the venue was clearly not on Daniel Kim's lengthy and somewhat empty speech.

Their eyes drifted intentionally or unintentionally towards the huge, open door of the factory.

Not far away, at the No. 2 assembly station, a huge object was standing quietly - the iconic, angular, fully enclosed integrated island of the first ship "Zumwalt", which had been delivered to the site a month ago.

It also means that this ill-fated "future warship" is finally about to enter the final sprint stage before launching and outfitting.

Once the final round of ship inspection is completed, the most critical and final assembly step on the ground can begin:

Installation and welding of the island.

"...the shipyard is steadily improving its delivery efficiency as planned," Daniel Kim said with unquestionable certainty, "We are confident that DDG-1000 will demonstrate its unparalleled combat capability as scheduled."

These words reached the ears of Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead.

He calmly tilted his head slightly, and the corner of his mouth turned down almost imperceptibly, and he let out a very light sneer that only the people around him could barely catch.

He tilted his head slightly, lowered his voice to a very low level, almost whispering to Vice Admiral Porter Downey, the commander of the Maritime Systems Command beside him:

"Porter, tell me the truth, is there any chance that the DDG-1000 can be delivered on time?"

Since the end of the last century, Bath Iron Works has been plagued by problems such as aging equipment and a shortage of workers. Its shipbuilding efficiency has plummeted and it has gradually fallen behind its competitor, Huntington Ingalls Shipyard.

Although equipment has been updated over the past decade, the decline of the U.S. shipbuilding industry is overall.

There is no such thing as industrial workers.

Thinking of this, Raffheit glanced towards the coast.

There is a nearly new 2.8-ton dry dock parked there.

230 meters long, specially designed to help destroyers launch more safely.

The only problem is that this dry dock was built in China.

Vice Admiral Downey's expression was equally solemn, and he responded in a low voice: "The shipyard has already tilted its resources towards DDG-1000. If the installation and commissioning of the island goes smoothly, it is very likely that outfitting will begin in June or July this year."

Roughhead's expression became better.

But Donny changed the subject again, his tone was helpless:

"But the cost is huge... they have pulled a lot of people from other workstations, so the commissioning time of the Michael Murphy may be delayed until early 2013, and the subsequent construction preparations for the Burke Flight IIA type will inevitably be seriously delayed."

……

Half an hour later, the lengthy ceremony finally ended amid applause.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and other civilian officials left in a hurry. They needed to rush back to Washington to attend the crucial defense budget preparation meeting that afternoon.

But Roughead and Downey were in no rush to leave.

Their eyes searched the crowd and soon locked onto their target——

Thomas Elginbridge, president of Rolls-Royce North America and head of the Powertrain business unit.

The latter was also standing near the factory entrance at this moment, looking with complicated eyes at the main hull of the DDG-1000 that was about to receive its "head" at the No. assembly position outside the door, as well as the huge island next to it.

The two of them walked straight over.

Everyone was already acquaintances, so Roughhead didn't exchange too many pleasantries. He simply pointed at the ship's hull in the dry dock, which looked unusually bare due to the lack of an island.

"Mr. Elginbridge," Roughead said pointedly, "Once the island is hoisted and welded, most of the core subsystems of the entire ship will enter an irreversible integration state. Any problem with the core system will bring catastrophic consequences and incalculable costs..."

Elginbridge immediately heard the hidden meaning in the other party's words.

As the helmsman of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, he knows all too well what the Navy is worried about.

But it certainly couldn't come out of his mouth.

"Admiral, you might as well be more straightforward."

Roughhead was no longer polite: "Have you been able to guarantee the reliability of the MT30 gas turbine and the entire integrated power system?"

Two years ago, a large-scale power system failure occurred on the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers, causing all six ships to lose their combat effectiveness at the same time.

Although the power of Type 45 is not exactly the same as that of DDG1000, they are of the same origin after all.

"I understand your concern." Elginbridge straightened his back slightly, trying to appear as confident as possible. "Please allow me to reassure you that the MT1000 gas turbine and integrated IFEP integrated electric propulsion system provided for the DDG-30 project are not exactly the same as the systems installed on the previous Type 45 destroyer."

He chose his words carefully: "In response to some of the challenges encountered by the Type 45, we have conducted in-depth analysis and...special upgrade optimization."

It was naturally impossible for Elginbridge to say that they had sought emergency help from the Chinese, so they had to cover it up with the term "special upgrade".

"In short, we have conducted comprehensive reliability verification and targeted improvements, which can completely avoid the unexpected power loss problem similar to that on the Type 45."

However, Admiral Roughead's look did not become relaxed by this assurance.

He has long been accustomed to this kind of "confidence" in suppliers, and even a little numb.

"Mr. Elginbridge, the Zumwalt's sea trials will be the most rigorous and comprehensive tests the Navy has ever conducted."

He shook his head slowly, and emphasized in a serious tone:

"Its performance will directly determine the subsequent fate of the entire DDG-1000 project. It will also directly determine," he emphasized, "the willingness and quantity of the U.S. Navy's future main battleships to purchase MT30 gas turbines and even the entire integrated power system architecture."

The professional smile on Thomas Elginbridge's face finally began to falter.

This news is really sudden.

"Excuse me...but as far as I know, hasn't Congress approved the construction plan of at least eight ships?"

Roughead shook his head. “In fact, the controversy over the cost-effectiveness of the DDG-1000 project has never stopped, and the armaments are no longer suitable for dealing with the high-intensity naval battles that may occur in the future.”

He paused, and then continued to throw out another piece of news that was no less than thunder:

"The top leaders have basically reached a consensus to suspend the subsequent construction plan of the current version of DDG-1000 after Lyndon Johnson."

Elginbridge's expression suddenly froze.

"Pause? Then...what about the Navy's future main air defense destroyers? Should we stop developing them?"

"Of course not." Downey took over and explained, "The Navy is evaluating the options. If it is determined that the DDG-1000's hull performance is good enough, then we will make in-depth improvements based on the mature hull of DDG-1000 and develop an upgraded Flight II model."

He gave Elginbridge some time to absorb the idea, then went on to describe the direction for improvement:

"The core idea is to cancel the AGS advanced naval gun system and its supporting LRLAP ammunition, which have extremely low cost-effectiveness and questionable reliability, as well as the AWJ-21 advanced water jet propulsion system, which also brings huge complexity and cost, and return to the traditional MK45 Mod 4 127mm naval gun and propeller propulsion."

"Wouldn't that mean the DDG1000's unique features would be gone?"

Downey did not answer directly, but continued: "The saved resources will be used to increase the number of MK-57 vertical launch systems and restore the VSR (long-range wide-area search radar) part of the DBR dual-band radar system to ensure the long-range detection and tracking capability of high-altitude, high-speed targets and ballistic missiles to adapt to the Standard 3 and Standard 6 ship-to-air missiles."

"It sounds... like a very safe plan?" Elginbridge commented.

"But if the DDG-1000 sea trial results, especially the power system, do not meet expectations... then the Navy will have no choice but to continue to improve and build more 'Arleigh Burke' Flight IIA models, or even start the development of the Flight III model and integrate some new technologies on its basis."

Roughhead shrugged.

"This means that the DDG-1000 program may come to an end."

As the main supplier of MT30 gas turbines, Elginbridge naturally hopes that the US military can purchase more DDG1000s. After all, this is directly related to the core business and huge profits of the Navy's power department in North America in the next decade.

But this is not just a technical issue.

The deep-rooted doubts of the Navy’s top brass about the power system may have affected the shipyard’s decision-making.

The island has clearly arrived for several days, but has not yet been installed. Is it because the navy lacks confidence in the power system and is waiting for clearer guarantees or a final inspection?

This kind of delay itself brings huge costs and risks, and the longer the night, the more trouble there is, and unexpected problems may arise at any time.

Elginbridge's mind raced.

Empty promises seem pale and powerless at this moment. Even swearing and swearing are of no avail and instead seem frivolous.

He needed to produce tangible evidence, an opportunity for the navy's top brass to see with their own eyes and experience firsthand the reliability of the system after the "special upgrade."

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

"General," Elginbridge took a deep breath and reorganized his expression, "The Royal Navy's destroyer Duncan is undergoing a comprehensive return to the factory..."

He originally wanted to say "return to the factory for overhaul", but he was worried that the key words would provoke the other party's sensitive nerves, so he quickly changed the wording:

"Well... after comprehensive technical running-in, it should be ready for service soon."

Roughhead nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"Thanks to its later construction time, the Duncan has applied the same 'special upgrade' package as the DDG-1000 power system."

Elginbridge made a key suggestion:

"You can invite the Duncan to the Gulf of Mexico for joint exercises or training to evaluate the performance of this power system after the upgrade in a real ocean environment and operational intensity."