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Navy's Troubled Stealth Destroyers May Have Radars Replaced Before Ever Sailing On A Mission
[TheDrive] A cost-cutting effort years ago left the DDG-1000 destroyers with degraded capabilities and a one-off combat system, but that could be changing.The U.S. Navy is in the process of exploring options to replace Raytheon's AN/SPY-3 radar on its three still not yet operational Zumwalt class destroyers. The only option we know definitively to be under consideration is a variant of the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, or EASR, but the Navy has indicated that there are others. EASR is another Raytheon product that is already slated to go onto a number of the service's new ships, including all future Ford class aircraft carriers from CVN-79 on and the forthcoming Constellation class frigates, previously known as FFG(X). Combined with the stealthy destroyers' other advanced and largely unique combat systems, a new, more powerful radar could significantly expand their capabilities, which were grossly watered-down years ago as part of cost-cutting efforts. A spokesperson for Naval Sea Systems Command confirmed to The War Zone that "the Navy is exploring several alternatives to sustain air and surface search capability aboard the Zumwalt class ships" on Oct. 15, 2020. That same statement said that "no decision has been made at this time" as to how the service will necessarily proceed. The first-in-class USS Zumwalt has already received its combat systems, but the second and third ships in the class, the USS Michael Monsoor and the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson are in the process of being fitted out. As such, all three could need to have their existing removed in order to receive new ones. Related: DDG-1000 destroyer: 2009-04-09 Contractors Agree on Deal to Build Stealth Destroyer DDG-1000 destroyer: 2007-04-16 Navy Lacks Plan to Defend Against 'Sizzler' Missile Related: Zumwalt: 2020-01-17 Zumwalt class may get new missile... Zumwalt: 2019-02-01 Navy Destroyer USS Michael Monsoor Commissioned Zumwalt: 2018-07-20 Navy's new $4.6 billion destroyer was accepted despite need for new engine Posted by: Woodrow 2020-10-17 |
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