Canadian Surface Combatant RFQ

[Dale Denton]

Where would we station these units, if we had them?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Defending Canada would be easy and hard at the same time. West coast,  langara island, Cape Scott, Bamfield. Some road building required, along with docks and buildings. East Coast, 2-3 spots on Newfoundland and same Nova Scotia. That would defend against surface ships, but not subs.

 

[Underway]

Random thought, here:

Would the SPY-7 work in a ground based application, say, in the north?

If so, what would be the economics of using the same radar to re-capitalize the NWS for NORAD?

The SPY-7's first purchase was by the Japanese for two large systems to use for BMD from North Korea.  The main advantage in the Japanese choosing the system was its high availability rates, where you can repair and maintain the system without turning it off.  Might work, lots of pro's and con's to look at.

 

[Underway]

An informative video on the Aegis Combat System and the SPY 7 Radar, of note there are a number of references to the CSC program.  It's a good primer on the system, radar and where Lockheed sees their product going.

Lockheed Combat Systems Portfolio Video

 

[Czech_pivo]

Any sense on when we'll hear about any updates on the next phase of the CSC programme.  Things have been very quiet as of late, no news for months now. 

 

[Underway]

Any sense on when we'll hear about any updates on the next phase of the CSC programme.  Things have been very quiet as of late, no news for months now.

They are still nailing down the design approvals and specifications (definition phase). If it isn't completed already, it will be soon.  As soon as that's done I expect there will be a wave of public affairs and Lockheed/BAE released information on the ship and its specifications. 

 

[MarkOttawa]

Meanwhile the Aussies now have three of these:

Final Air Warfare Destroyer Added to the Royal Australian Navy Fleet

On February 28, 2020, the final of three Air Warfare destroyers was handed over officially to the Royal Australian Navy.

NUSHIP Sydney is the final of the three ships being delivered by the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance, which includes the Department of Defence, Raytheon Australia, and ASC Shipbuilding supported by Navantia Australia.

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds attended the acceptance ceremony at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide.

“While the delivery of NUSHIP Sydney marks the end of this program, it represents an exciting time for the National Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise, as we continue to build upon the unique skills developed at this precinct and transfer them across the whole shipbuilding ecosystem,” Minister Reynolds said.

“I congratulate the 5000 workers who have worked directly on this program over the past decade, from the design phase through to the construction, integration and delivery of these magnificent ships.

“The significance of this success cannot be understated and is reflected in the truly world-class capability of these warships, and the naval shipbuilding and combat system integration skills that have been developed at Osborne.”

NUSHIP Sydney will now sail to her home port at Garden Island in Sydney and, once commissioned later this year, will join HMA Ships Hobart and Brisbane to complete Navy’s new fleet of its most capable warships to date.

And in an August 6, 2018, I reported on a visit and interview with the Captain of the first of the Air Warfare destroyer. That article follows:

The HMAS Hobart is the first of the three Aegis Air Warfare destroyers to be operational with the Navy and the second ship will be commissioned later this year.

The ship introduces a new level of combat capability into the Royal Australian Navy in which the ship’s reach is significantly greater than any previous ship operational in the Aussie fleet because of its Aegis Combat system.

It is a key building block in shaping an integrated air-sea task force navy in that the capabilities onboard the ship can contribute to an integrated C2, ISR and strike grid in which the evolving capabilities of the ADF can cover a wider area of operation in the waters surrounding Australia or in service of missions further abroad.

As Rear Admiral Mayer noted during an interview conducted with him while he was Commander of the Australian fleet:

“We are joint by necessity.

“Unlike the US Navy, we do not have our own air force or our own army. Joint is not a theological choice, it’s an operational necessity.”

What clearly this means is that the future of the Hobart class is working ways to operate in an integrated battlespace with land-based RAAF F-35s, Tritons and P-8s among other air assets.

Their future is not protecting the carrier battle group, as the Aussies have no carrier.

Rather, their future is “to provide air defence for accompanying ships in addition to land forces and infrastructure in coastal areas, and for self-protection against missiles and aircraft.”

The skill sets being learned to operate the ship, notably the workflow on board the ship, in terms of the use of data, ISR and C2 systems, working situational awareness throughout the work stations onboard the ship, are foundational for other ships coming to the fleet.

With the coming of the Brisbane, the HMAS Hobart will no longer be a single ship but the lead into a class of ships.

And with the Australian decision with regard to its new frigates which will leverage the Aegis combat system capability as well, the HMAS Hobart has become the lead into a whole new approach to how the Australian fleet will shape its combat networks as well.

This means that the training and support provided to HMAS Hobart is a foundation for a larger effort for the Navy as well.

And with the addition of F-35 as well as P-8s and Tritons as well as the evolution of the KC-30A tanker, the fleet looks to become a core element for an integrated air-maritime task force approach.

Indeed, when visiting HMAS Hobart one can already see crew from the Brisbane onboard getting ready for its initial deployments as well.

The Aegis combat system pioneered by the US Navy and Lockheed Martin has become a global capability as an Aegis Global Enterprise has emerged in which new types of ships have been built carrying variants of the Aegis combat system...[read on]
https://sldinfo.com/2020/02/final-air-warfare-destroyer-added-to-the-royal-australian-navy-fleet/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[Underway]

So in the newest issue of the Canadian Naval Review there was a good article on the SPY-7 Radar.  I'll post highlights below as I'm not going to export a PDF from outside a paywall, but I encourage finding the article if you can.  Canadian Naval Review is a decent publication. 

My editorializing in yellow...

-AESA radar with multiple transmitters built directly into the back of the array's surface
-sub-arrays are shoebox-sized, modular and can be removed in as little as 30 seconds for repair, long edge of shoebox faces outwards
-digital and software-defined signals
-maintenance can be performed without shutting down the array, only required to turn off the problem sub-array
-none of the above is a great surprise, the shoebox shape is new though

-Lockheed stated that the CSC will be getting SPY 1 range with a much smaller footprint
-wait what!?  That is impressive.  It doesn't mean its precision and tracking are as good but still.  Max power output in the 4-6MW range is a lot of juice

-radar configuration for CSC will be two four-panel arrays.  One four-panel S-band search and track, one four-panel X-band illumination radar (provided by MDA Canada).  Each X-band will be paired to the S-band on the same face
-some of us predicted this, so its not a huge surprise.  I wonder if the X-band will be able to backup as a search/track radar as well

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I don't even pretend to understand modern naval radars, does each "shoebox" contain a transmitter and receiver? Can they do both at the same time or is it still a 'gate" of transmit/receive? Me and my ancient Decca 101 want to know.  Do I still need grease pencils?  :dunno:

 

[MTShaw]

I don't even pretend to understand modern naval radars, does each "shoebox" contain a transmitter and receiver? Can they do both at the same time or is it still a 'gate" of transmit/receive? Me and my ancient Decca 101 want to know.  Do I still need grease pencils?  :dunno:

Here’s a start:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Discrimination_Radar

And Spy-7’s competitor:

https://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/spy6-radars

Michael

 

[Colin Parkinson]

So does each block transmit on the same frequency, or is each block on a separate frequency? I imagine if they all broadcast at once you be getting multiples returns on the same object? Or do they delay them so a pattern of blocks all transmit at once while the rest are in receive mode and the pattern changes allowing for the receipt of signals returning at ever so slightly different angles?

 

[MTShaw]

So does each block transmit on the same frequency, or is each block on a separate frequency? I imagine if they all broadcast at once you be getting multiples returns on the same object? Or do they delay them so a pattern of blocks all transmit at once while the rest are in receive mode and the pattern changes allowing for the receipt of signals returning at ever so slightly different angles?

My understanding is that an AESA radar can slew through an entire spectrum.  In the case of the SPY-7 each of those “boxes” would have a range of ~ 2-4ghz. Each box contains many transceivers and can point its radar beam in any area in its regard.

Workman’s description.

 

[MTShaw]

Most detailed modelS I’ve yet see

 

[OceanBonfire]

Most detailed modelS I’ve yet see

"snip"

Would be great to have a source so we'd know when those pictures were taken if it's the most recent model. Small differences compared to earlier though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQxoP1-l93o

 

[MTShaw]

Would be great to have a source so we'd know when those pictures were taken if it's the most recent model. Small differences compared to earlier though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQxoP1-l93o

Posted on Twitter on January 16, 2020 by a guy named Guy Larter.  He looks to be taking photos of SNA.

 

[Underway]

So does each block transmit on the same frequency, or is each block on a separate frequency? I imagine if they all broadcast at once you be getting multiples returns on the same object? Or do they delay them so a pattern of blocks all transmit at once while the rest are in receive mode and the pattern changes allowing for the receipt of signals returning at ever so slightly different angles?

As the SPY-7 is an Active electronically scanned array which generally works as follows:

Each shoebox-sized element is capable of generating its own signal, as well as altering its phase and amplitude. Because it generates its own signal at any given time, each of the elements may be operating at a different frequency. An antenna element may change its frequency of operation around 1000's of times per second. Thus, the radar beam now does not operate at a single frequency, but rather a frequency band (in this case S-band or roughly 2-4 GHz as stated by MTShaw). As the radar energy is now spread over a band, instead of a precise single frequency, the enemy thinks that this signal is simply background noise and ignores it. This is why such radars are called LPI (low probability of Intercept) radars.

Each element can steer its own beam electronically.  Each beam can be assigned a zone in space to look into.  For example, some beams may be assigned to horizon search and others for above 60 degrees in elevation.  More elements = more overlapping beams, more redundancy and less chance you miss something sliding between beams.

 

[Spencer100]

Most detailed modelS I’ve yet see

Where is the CIWS? I see 32 VLS in the bow with the 5 inch, 8 VLS midship, 2 remote guns,  8 SSM.

 

[Swampbuggy]

Right behind the funnel, before the Anti Ship Missiles, you'll see two 3 cell VLS. They're for CAMM, which is said to be replacing PHALANX with 24 point defense missiles.

 

[Swampbuggy]

The NRWS mounts aft on both sides look more like DS30M units than a 25mm Mk.38. That's a nice upgrade, if the model is correct. 

 

[Lumber]

32 VLS? For 24 SM-2s and 32 quad-packed ESSMs?

Pretty Please?