By Geoff Fein
A key Senate panel wants the Navy to submit a plan for providing a full and open competition for combat systems in construction of surface combatants beyond 2011.
According to language in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) authorization report for fiscal year 2010, the Navy Secretary will submit to congressional defense committees a plan for competing these combat systems along with the president’s FY ’12 budget.
“The plan shall include specifics on the intent of the Navy to…evaluate applicable technologies during the request for proposal and selection process,” the report said.
The plan shall include sufficient detail for systems and subsystems to ensure that the plan avoids redundant development for common functions; reflects implementation of Navy plans for achieving open architecture for all naval surface combatant systems; and fosters full and open competition.
Additionally, no later than the date on which the president submits his FY ’12 budget to Congress, the Navy Secretary shall submit to both the House and Senate defense committees a plan to provide for full and open competition on the combat systems for surface combatants proposed in the future-years defense program.
The Navy has been laying out the groundwork for opening up combat systems on destroyers and cruisers under a spiral effort starting with the advanced capability build (ACB) ’08 and moving out to ACB 16. The Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems has been leading the effort to develop an open architecture approach to opening up pieces of the Aegis combat system under the ACB approach.
The Navy Secretary also will be required to submit to lawmakers a plan to incorporate into surface combatants built after 2011, as well into fleet modernization programs, the technologies developed for DDG-1000, DDG-51 and CG-47 Aegis ships.
Those technologies include:
- DDG-1000 combat system;
- DDG-1000 multi-function and dual-band radars;
- DDG-1000 integrated electric propulsion technologies;
- DDG-51/CG-47 combat systems, including missile defense capabilities;
- DDG-51/CG-47 anti-submarine warfare sensor systems designed for open ocean operations; and
- Hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) systems achieving significant manpower savings.
SASC is also requiring the Navy Secretary to submit and update to the March 2006 report to Congress on Naval Surface Fire Support.
“The update shall identify how the Department of Defense intends to address any shortfalls between required naval surface fire support capability and the plan of the Navy to provide that capability,” according to the SASC report.