USS Bonefish (SS-582) Fire: Remembering The 20th Anniversary

There are stories behind the stories, and it usually takes awhile for the stories to get told. The internet is very good at this, and in the context of Naval History, the internet is excellent for telling stories like this:

Today is the 20th anniversary of the fire in the battery well aboard USS BONEFISH (SS-582), approximately 160 miles east of Mayport, FL, while the USS JOHN F KENNEDY (CV-67), the USS CARR (FFG-52) and the BONEFISH were conducting training operations together.

As a result of the posting before, the aircrewman aboard the SH-3 Sea King from the KENNEDY has met with me and described the initial chaos from about 30 feet above the water, as he hoisted submariners to safety. He left a comment letting me know the record of the reports I had heard almost 20 years ago were not completely accurate. I was able to find and contact the then XO of the BONEFISH, who graciously spent his time typing up and forwarding his recollections.

Seven great reads in one place, Bravo Zulu xformed. Additional pictures available here.

Spain Sending Signals to Somalia

This is how it started last time too, quiet movements of specific forces.

According to latest reports, the pirates who captured a Basque tuna fishing boat off the coast of Somalia last Sunday have demanded €400,000 euros for the safe release of the 26 hostages, 13 of whom are Spanish.

In related news, it seems that four Spanish Air Force planes have been sent to the area to keep an eye on the pirates from above and provide support for a possible special forces rescue mission.

Spain's Foreign Affairs minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos confirmed offcially yesterday that an Orion spotter plane equipped with radar had been deployed to provide air cover for the Spanish Navy newest battleship, the 'Méndez Núñez', which is now in place after being diverted from manoeuvres in the Red Sea.

According to a report in today's El País, the three other Spanish Air Force planes are a Falcon fighter jet, a Hercules transport plane and a Boeing 707.

We usually don't learn of ransom figures while the hostages are still being held, but €400,000 Euros is interesting. That is around half the total demanded from the French. There is a big difference this time though, the hostages were removed from the boat.

That doesn't usually happen, but says something about the region and lack of law enforcement, and perhaps support for piracy from the local population.

Hitting the Fixed Price For the LCS Is Important

Continuing out theme this week of shipbuilding, I've been thinking about that $460 million target cost number for the LCS passed with last years defense budget. If you are not aware, Ronald O'Rourke summarizes the issue.

The Navy in 2007 requested that Congress amend the existing unit procurement cost cap for the fifth and sixth ships to $460 million, plus adjustments for inflation and other factors. Congress amended the cost cap to $460 million, but applied it not only to the fifth and sixth LCSs, but to all LCSs procured in FY2008 and subsequent years. The use of fixed-price contracts for future LCSs was something that the Navy had stated an intention to do as part of its plan for restructuring the LCS program.

People don't like the comparison of the Littoral Combat Ship to the Oliver Hazard Perry class costs ($650 million in FY08 dollars), or at least I've been told this again and again, so I thought I might try a different comparison. Regardless of how many Littoral Combat Ships get built, I think the LCS has the potential to the best minesweeper ever built. MIW is serious business, and I do not see a problem investing money in MIW, and I think $460 million per ship in FY08 dollars is a good target.

$460 million sounds like a ton of money for a 3100 ton ship. We all see places where costs could be cut for the LCS and it remain effective for the MIW role, and it seems really silly we are building a 50 knot minesweeper. Regular readers also know I think motherships should be big, and see the Navy building a flotilla of unrated mini motherships to lack serious strategic vision regarding the 21st century. However, despite these criticisms, if I was the Navy, or if I was advocating for MIW, this is probably something I'd try to highlight more often.

I found this interesting summery from 1996 regarding the Avenger class MCMs (DOC Formet). It got me thinking about all the problems we had building the Avenger class, so I decided to try calculating some costs.

According to this SAR report from December 1990, the base year cost of the MCM-1 class is $1466.3 million for 14 ships, or an average unit cost of $104.7 million in FY82 dollars. For those who aren't aware, the Navy uses a special index for measuring inflation for shipbuilding, but they do not make that shipbuilding inflation index public. The theory behind this special shipbuilding index is that shipbuilding inflation is higher than inflation in other DoD sectors.

However, with every budget the DoD does publish what is known as the Greenbook, an inflation index for calculating costs of different fiscal years. Because the LCS figure of $460 million is locked into FY08, I downloaded the DoD FY 2008 Greenbook and used this 'second best source' for this example.

Using Table 5.7 of the Fy08 Greenbook to adjust for inflation, we find the procurement deflater that excludes pay, fuel, and medical to be 53.02 for FY82. Admittedly I haven't studied my economics in over a decade, and may have skipped that class a lot, but if I'm remembering how to do this correctly the MCM-1 class which costs an average of $104.7 million in FY82 is around $197.5 million in FY08.

That got me thinking a bit. If the Avenger class went for $197.5 million, at 1312 tons that is an average of $150 million per 1000 tons. If the LCS is able to hit cost targets of $460 million, at 3100 tons that comes out to around $148 million per 1000 tons, which is less per 1000 tons than the really basic Avenger class.

If you believe shipbuilding inflation is higher than other sectors, then the FY08 $197.5 million figure for the Avenger class would be wrong, the actual cost figure would be much higher. I think most people would agree shipbuilding inflation is much higher than other sectors. In essence, if the LCS can hit the fixed price target of $460 million in FY08 dollars, it will be less expensive per ton than the Avenger class, potentially a lot less expensive, and a hell of a lot more capable.

Something I've been thinking about lately.

No Skyhawks on Washington

The latest news from Brazil is that there will be no A-4s operating off the GW. The article from Robert Godoy was the first in this mornings CLIPs.

The Navy Command is taking between seven and 11 ships to Unitas 2008 - five escort units, one submarine and one patrol ship. The Air Force is also taking part, with a maritime surveillance squadron and, maybe, precision attack airplanes.

The aircraft carrier A12 Sao Paulo will not take part in the exercise. In for an overhaul and modernization since 2005, when it was damaged by a small fire, the flagship of the squadron was expected to return to sea this month. It will not. The expectation is that this will happen sometime this year still, "after the tests necessary following a long period of maintenance." The A-1 Skyhawk fighter jets on the A12 - of the 23 acquired second-hand in Kuwait at the end of the 1990s, only two are in a condition to be used - will not operate on the George Washington. Yesterday, in Buenos Aires, Argentine Defense Minister Nilda Garre said that navy fighter jets of will carry out landing and take-off tests on the CVN73.

It is good to see more news coverage of the GWs visit. Brazil is the future of this hemisphere, and we need to get very comfortable working with them, doing it is as often as possible. It is also both entertaining and interesting to observe the Brazilians, particularly as they discuss the GW.

Yesterday I was reading an article where the premise was Brazil should buy the Kitty Hawk if India doesn't, nevermind Brazil probably can't afford it, certainly doesn't have the money to operate it or buy enough aircraft to use it. None of that seems to matter though, ahh to be a dreamer though.

Will A-4Skyhawks Fly Off the GW?

We observed on Monday that the USS George Washington (CVN 73) and two Navy escorts are visiting Rio de Janeiro to exercise with Brazil and Argentina in UNITAS XLIX. The Brazil Naval Blog suggested that four ships were visiting, and we were curious what the fourth ship was. Luckily, the Brazil Naval Blog comes through on cue, and highlights the fourth vessel as the USCGC Northland (WMEC-904).

After reading the Partnership of Americas 2008 fact sheet, we noticed something that didn't register at the time but might be something to watch for.

During the in-port and underway phases of exercise UNITAS Atlantic, we will work with Brazil and Argentina (and other navies that may accept Brazil’s invitation to participate).

We will train together in multi-warfare exercises designed to increase coalition skills of all navies involved. The carrier and air wing’s participation will accomplish several things:

1. Allow us to integrate with officers and sailors from our Brazilian sister ship, Sao Paulo, and naval aviation squadron VF-1.
2. Build relationships by giving pilots, landing signal officers, air traffic controllers and fighter controllers from Brazil, Argentina, and the U.S. opportunities to train together.

The Sao Paulo was placed in dry dock on January 14th and pulled out of dry dock on March 27th, only a few weeks ago. While it is possible the Sao Paulo will be participating in the UNITAS exercise, I keep thinking I read something about the Sao Paulo being out of service until later this year undergoing repairs.

We believe this means it is very possible that Brazilian A-4 Skyhawks will be flying off the deck of the USS George Washington (CVN 73) over the next few weeks. If true, that should produce some interesting photography, because unless someone is aware of something we are not, I believe this would be the first time the A-4 Skyhawk operated off a Nimitz class aircraft carrier.

Foreign aircraft flying off US aircraft carriers may be a theme over the next few months, we still expect the French to fly off the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in July.