Sep 5, 2019, 07:25am
Two Refits That Could Make Or Break The U.S. Navy
Craig Hooper
The U.S. Navy has an enormous amount of credibility and prestige riding on the outcome of two post-delivery refits. Now, in naval shipbuilding, post-shakedown availabilities are usually mundane affairs where the naval customer makes a few final fixes. But today, the U.S. Navy is counting upon the successful completion of extensive post-construction modifications on the USS South Dakota (SSN 790), a brand-new Virginia class submarine, and the first-in class USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) super-carrier.
Both refits are larger and more complex than usual, and they both aim to help the U.S. fleet leverage a host of ambitious next-generation technologies. But a successful outcome is far from guaranteed. In Norfolk, Virginia, the USS Gerald R. Ford, a new $13-billion-dollar nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is struggling to achieve combat-readiness. The new electromagnetic technologies aboard the ship and innovative energy-distribution methods are proving to be difficult to master and then apply to elevators and other “old-fashioned†or “legacy†systems. And, farther north, tucked away in Connecticut’s Electric Boat shipyard, the $2.6-billion dollar USS South Dakota is quietly receiving an intensive refit to ensure America’s continued superiority in the undersea domain.
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