News Story: No New Ships - Trump Cuts Navy Shipbuilding, Aircraft Procurement

Image: Flickr User - Greg Bishop

By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.

PENTAGON: Despite his campaign pledge of a 350-ship fleet, President Trump’s first budget cuts Navy shipbuilding and aircraft procurement below what was enacted in 2017, documents released today reveal. Despite Trump’s criticism of President Obama’s defense plans, this budget sticks with Obama’s shipbuilding plan for 2018: eight ships. And it actually buys eight fewer aircraft than Obama planned.

So we were overly optimistic last week when we predicted Trump would add at least one warship (a $1.8 billion Aegis destroyer) and possibly two (a $550 million Littoral Combat Ship) to the Obama plan. Instead, it adds zip, zero — nada.

Even the mix of types is exactly the same as under Obama:

• one aircraft carrier (the future CVN-80, Enterprise);
• two attack submarines (Virginia-class SSNs);
• two Aegis destroyers (Arleigh Burke-class DDGs);
• one Littoral Combat Ship or — if the new class can be started in time — a frigate;
• and two support ships (a T-ATS tug/salvage ship and a “T-Interim,” presumably what was previously called the T-AO(X) oiler).

We have heard persistent rumors that OMB director Mick Mulvaney added a second Littoral Combat Ship at the last minute after a working group warned him that buying only a single LCS would shutter one of the two shipyards involved. “There’s a discussion right now on whether or not we add some additional Littoral Combat Ships,” Mulvaney told the Hugh Hewitt Show on May 4th. “We did not add any of those as part of this $21 billion dollar request…The Navy doesn’t want them.”

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

Think Tank: Unmanned naval aviation—bigger isn’t always better

Geoff Slocombe

The 14 February piece by James Mugg and Andrew Davies was like the curate’s egg: good in parts. Much of what they wrote about the significance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and systems (UAS), especially about Navy’s recently announced contract for 110kg CAMCOPTER S-100 rotary wing UAS and three year logistics support, is non-controversial. They could’ve also mentioned Navy’s current trials with the Boeing Insitu 22kg ScanEagle fixed wing UAV, equipped with Melbourne’s Sentient Vision Systems ViDAR sensor, but more on that later.

Their consideration of a large unmanned helicopter like Northrop Grumman’s 1,430kg, 7.3 metre long MQ-8B/C Fire Scout for Navy was the problem. Probably the only RAN vessels where Fire Scout would be an excellent UAV choice are the two Canberra Class LHDs plus HMAS Choules, a smaller amphibious vessel. Smaller UAVs make much more sense for the air warfare destroyers, future frigates and offshore patrol vessels.

Fire Scout is an outstandingly good UAV, with excellent endurance, serious sensor capabilities, and it can be equipped with offensive missiles. The US Navy’s large platforms, like their littoral combat ships, have deck space and hangar room to deploy Fire Scout very effectively.

So why is this contrary view on the suitability of large unmanned helicopters for the RAN’s ships, apart from those already mentioned, being put forward?

Think Tank: UCAS and the RAAF’s future

Malcolm Davis

The U.S. Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator flies over Edwards during a routine test mission. The UCAS-D program conducted the airworthiness test phase for the X-47B at Edwards, which came to a successful conclusion May 15 after more than two years of testing. (Image: Wiki Commons) >>

A common refrain when discussing the future of airpower is that ‘the F-35 is the last manned fighter’ and the future belongs to unmanned systems. The expanding use of unmanned air systems (UAS) such as Reapers and Predators against international terrorist networks implies a future of remote, push-button warfare. That entails minimal risk (on one side) for maximum tactical precision effect. The panorama of future battle is captured in targeting footage presented on evening news, and has become the centrepiece of movies—for instance, the excellent Eye in the Sky.

The 2016 Defence White Paper highlights Australia’s acquisition of an armed reconnaissance UAS for Army in the early 2020s (para 4.55), and seven unarmed MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Air Force (4.38). Army already makes extensive use of tactical surveillance UAS such as the RQ-7B Shadow 200, while RAN has completed experimentation with the ScanEagle UAVS, and may employ Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Firescout on the Future Frigates and the Canberra-class LHDs.

Think Tank: DWP 2016 - unmanned systems and the future ADF

MQ-9 Reaper

James Mugg

The 2016 Defence White Paper mentions ‘unmanned’ systems 15 times. The accompanying Integrated Investment Plan (IIP) [pdf] has 39 references. The government has clear ambitions to purchase UAVs for maritime surveillance and airborne strike, with unmanned systems for other roles evidently under consideration.

Starting with the most assured acquisition, the Triton maritime surveillance UAV has been under consideration for at least three years. The unarmed Triton will provide a high-altitude, high-endurance maritime surveillance capability in concert with the incoming (manned) P-8 Poseidon fleet and other assets. The RAAF is expected to acquire the Tritons from the early 2020s.

As has been flagged previously, the government will also seek to acquire a number of armed reconnaissance UAVs for the Army by the early 2020s. The IIP outlines a plan to acquire ‘armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aircraft’ between 2018 and 2038 in Table 8. Until now, Australia has only operated unarmed UAVs like the RQ-7B Shadow, although ADF personnel have been training on US Air Force MQ-9B Reaper armed UAVs for at least a year. A purchase of something like the Reaper is a likely outcome.