From Janes:Serious structural defects have been identified throughout the United States Navy's fleet of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Jane's can reveal.
The navy (USN) has admitted that many of the 51 ships currently in service are buckling under the stress of higher-than-anticipated loads at sea.
The impact of rough-sea slamming on the bow has led to warping of main transverse bulkhead beams and some of the cribbing, a source said.
Repairs and strengthening work is already being carried out on the latest Flight IIA ships as well as vessels from the earlier production batches.
In September, for example, one of the newest destroyers - USS Gridley (DDG 101) - was undergoing repairs for beam warping during post-shakedown availability (PSA) at BAE Systems' shipyard in San Diego, California. Weakened support beams were cut out, reinforced and replaced.
Specialised labour was required because the task involved strengthening beams in very tight spots above the Gridley's sonar equipment room.
But the problem is widespread; according to a presentation on 21 September by Rear Admiral Kevin McCoy, the chief engineer at Naval Sea Systems Command's Naval Systems Engineering Directorate, the navy approved a USD62 million "bow-strengthening backfit" to address "local buckling of deck transverse beams" and other structural damage in a number of destroyers.
Guess we know what to expect from the DDG-51 modernization program. If I'm not mistaken, this sounds a lot like what is happening to the OHPs, and what was happening to the Spruance class although probably not to the same degree.
Service lives of the DDG-51 destroyers is 35 years, most countries only do 25 years for their frigates and destroyers. I wonder how long the support beams on the USS Gridley (DDG 101), commissioned only in Feb 2007... will hold? Would 35 years be asking too much?
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