As a naval architect in commercial shipping for several decades, I will admit to that I really do not understand the way the US Navy designs and builds ships. In the world of commercial shipping, the process is to design the ship and to specify the equipment before placing an order or starting construction. The Navy seems to prefer to sign contracts and begin construction before the designs are completed. It seems to be the most inefficient and costly way to build ships.
The two most obvious examples are the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and the destroyer USS Zumwalt. The aircraft carrier was delivered without working elevators to bring bombs and ammunition to planes on the flight deck. The destroyer was delivered without the Navy purchasing ammunition for its main guns. So, on the most expensive aircraft carrier ever built, its planes cannot be loaded with bombs, while on the most expensive destroyer ever built, it cannot use its primary weapon system because the high-tech shells simply cost too much to fire.
It is almost as if a pacifist with a twisted sense of humor was behind the procurement of both classes of ships. Continue reading
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The HMS Queen Elizabeth, Great Britain’s new aircraft carrier, sailed beneath the Verrazano Bridge yesterday on a weeklong visit to New York harbor. The ship which cost £3.1 billion is 932 feet long, displaces 65,000 tonnes, and is the largest warship ever built by the Royal Navy.