CMC Program Defining Future SSBN Launchers for UK, USASSBN Vanguard Class(click to view larger)The USA’s Ohio/ Henry M. Jackson Class and Britain’s Vanguard Class SSBNs (i. The Common Missile Compartment (CMC) sub- program will help to define one of the next- generation SSBN’s most important constraints. CMC aims to define the missile tubes and accompanying systems that would be used to launch new ballistic missiles, successors to the current Trident II/ D5 missile fleet used by the USA and Britain. Key options under consideration include a widened diameter for each tube from 2.
Imperatives and Opportunities. Trident D5 (larger)and C4 predecessor(click to view larger)The USA needs new SSBN submarines. Their existing Ohio Class boats will begin to retire at a rate of 1 hull per year, beginning in 2. Britain, meanwhile, relies on its Vanguard fleet for the entirety of its nuclear deterrent. Their alternative to replacement involves becoming a non- nuclear power. In both cases, the first step involves a new Common Missile Compartment and Advanced Launcher for current and future nuclear missiles.
Both countries have also taken the next step, and begun designing the submarines that will carry CMC. The USA and Britain aren’t alone in their pursuits. At present, France, India, Russia, and China are all working on successor sub- launched ballistic missile systems and/or SSBN submarines. CMC: Present and Future. Virginia Block III bow(click to view full)The new CMC/AL assemblies are slated for production in blocks of 4 tubes, allowing each partner to tailor the total number of missile tubes to its final submarine design. Current American Ohio Class SSBNs have 2. SSBN- X currently plans to reduce that to 1.
Britain’s current Vanguard Class has 1. Successor Class hasn’t been set yet. While CMC will define key constraints for America and Britain, it may also create opportunities. One is built- in: commonality between their respective launch systems makes it easier to share changes and advances. The other opportunity is about flexibility. There is no question that the future Common Missile Compartment will be built around the nuclear deterrence mission as its primary focus.
That is unlikely to be its sole use, however, and it would not be surprising if some of those other potential uses ended up influencing the CMC’s design. Converted Ohio class SSGNs, for instance, have already replaced nuclear missiles with American special forces, land attack missiles, and UAVs. In a similar and related vein, the Virginia Class Block III fast attack submarine replaced their 1.
Common Weapon Launcher (CWL) “six- shooters” derived from the SSGNs’ converted missile tubes. The size of those CWLs allows Virginia Class Block III submarines to launch cruise missiles, UAVs, UUVs, and more from these same tubes. Nuclear missile submarines are a nation’s most strategic assets, because they are its most secure and certain deterrence option. One does not commit them casually, to any purpose. As key trends like cheaper sensors and the Robotic Revolution grind onward, however, the next 4. SSBNs will need the flexibility to adapt and leverage these changes if they intend to survive.
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For the USA and Britain, the CMC needs to be part of that adaptation. Contracts and Key Events. BAE is hiring. Unless otherwise indicated, the The US Strategic Systems Programs in Washington, DC manages the contract. FY 2. 01. 3 – 2. 01. SSBN- X design. SSBN- X concept(click to view full)April 7/1. Specifications. The US Navy has reportedly finalized the specifications for their new SSBNs. They’ll be about as long as the current Ohio Class, but with 8 fewer missile tubes (1.
Experimental Aircraft and Powerplant Newsforum for Designers and Builders This page last updated July 13, 2016. If you’ve been thinking about playing around with FPGAs and/or are interested in CPU design, . Normally we’d wait until the whole series is. With all due respect: things like this may have been done before but Vince Briel’s Altair emulator is a real emulator (and by the way it uses the Propeller only as terminal emulator, not as CPU), whereas this.
The submarines will have a new electric propulsion system, and the same kind of no- refuel reactor enjoyed by recent US boats. The latest Navy figures reportedly estimate $1. Sources: USNI, “Navy Has Finalized Specifications for New Ohio- Replacement Boomer”. March 3. 1/1. 4: GAO Report. The US GAO tables its “Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs“.
Which is actually a review for 2. With respect to SSBN- X, the numbers are very large: $9. RDT& E and $8. The Navy has set initial configurations for areas including the torpedo room, bow, and stern. In 2. 01. 4, the program expects to complete initial specifications, set ship length – a major milestone – and start detailed system descriptions and arrangements.”Navy officials are trying to reduce costs for boats 2- 1. FY1. 0$ 5. 6 billion to FY1.
Virginia Class and the UK’s Successor SSBN. The CMC itself is already doing some of that.
ULRM(click to view full)Feb 2. Long- lead. GD Electric Boat Corp. This contract combines purchases for the government of the United Kingdom (6. US Navy (3. 7%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Program. All funds are committed immediately, using British FMS and USN FY 2. RDT& E funds.
Work will be performed in Groton, CT, and is scheduled to be complete by February 2. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair in Groton, CT manages the contract (N0.
C- 2. 12. 8). Jan 3. UUV launcher. A joint effort between the US Navy and General Dynamics Electric Boat is now testing a prototype Universal Launch and Recovery Module (ULRM) system that would launch and capture underwater drones from SSBN/SSGN vertical launch tubes, and from the Virginia Payload Module on forthcoming Virginia Class submarines. Diagrams show payloads up to a pair of Bluefin- 2. SMCM mine countermeasures) UUVs, but the extend and launch method itself is adaptable to any new UUV that fits within the space. This isn’t a development that touches the CMC directly, nor is it new. Indeed, engineer Steve Klinikowski’s idea was tabled in 2. DSEi 2. 01. 1 in Britain.
This article is particularly helpful in showing pictures of the mechanisms, and in confirming that ULRM has progressed to testing. If there was any doubt that the CMC’s tubes are likely to include payload options beyond nuclear missiles, those doubts are effectively removed. The time to contemplate those needs is right now, during the CMC’s design phase. Engineering. com Designer Edge, “Navy Begins Test of UUV Launch System” . The Pentagon releases the FY 2.
Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT& E). CMC is included indirectly, as part of the “SSBN Ohio Class Replacement Program”.
SSBN- X is currently slated to include a new propulsor, a new electric drive system, and a degaussing system, all of which should make the new submarines harder to detect. The new nuclear reactor won’t require mid- life refueling, a long refit whose operational impact would have forced the USA to build 1. CMC provides the main weapons interface, and there’s currently a debate about whether to even give the SSBNs torpedo tubes. The Strategic Weapon System includes the Trident II D5 Life Extension missile, launcher, fire control, navigation systems, and associated support systems. Most of the SWS will be carried over from existing submarine classes, as will items like communications, sonar, and internal computer networks. From September 2.
July 2. 01. 3, the Navy conducted an Early Operational Assessment (EOA) – an extensive review of Ohio and Ohio Replacement documentation to identify program risks, and a modeling and simulation study to compare the survivability of the existing and future submarine classes. The EOA did come up with some program risks, which are classified. The modeling and simulation was informative, but the acoustic and threat models need updating. Jan 9/1. 3: Long- lead.
GD Electric Boat in Groton, CT receives a $1. Ohio Class Replacement Program.
This contract combines purchases for the US Navy (5. Britain (5. 0%). All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2. RDT& E budgets and UK government monies.
Work will be performed in Groton, CT, and is scheduled to be complete by November 2. The USN’s Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair in Groton, CT manages the contract (N0. C- 2. 12. 8). Dec 1.
R& D. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. This contract covers integration of the Trident II missile and reentry subsystems into the CMC, designing a testing fixture for nozzle shield retention, and designing an integrated test facility that will be compatible with existing and new submarine fleets. Efforts will address integration impacts to the deployed and expected future configurations of the Trident II SWS. Work will be performed at Cape Canaveral, FL (5.
Sunnyvale, CA (3. Magna, UT (7%); Groton, CT (2%); Titusville, FL (1%); and other locations of less than 1%, with an expected completion date of Dec 1. Funding is complex, involving $5. US and UK budget lines stretching from FY 2. The USN total is $5. UK commits $5. 7 million.
Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N0. C- 0. 01. 3). Dec 6/1. Support. BAE Systems Technology Solutions Inc.
Services will include both research and operations- related activites. All base year funds are committed immediately, using $1. UK, and the rest from various FY 2. USN procurement and operations budget lines. The maximum dollar value, including the base period and 2 option years, is $1.
BAE will provide coordination documentation; electrical diagrams; systems publications; shipyard installation test support; test equipment and test data analysis; support for re- engineering the SWS as appropriate in response to guidelines resulting from continuous improvement initiatives, configuration management through SSP Alterations program, logistics engineering, Preventive Maintenance Management Plan, Standard Maintenance Procedures; systems level documentation and training curriculum support; logistics planning; logistics engineering; field logistics services; network development and maintenance.