Axing DDG 1000 ($5.3 billion) radar could save money

[unhappycamper]

Axing DDG 1000 radar could save money
By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jun 4, 2010 20:06:01 EDT

The Pentagon’s move to delete half the radar system for the Navy’s DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers could save more than $600 million and may eventually open the door to giving the ships a ballistic missile defense capability, industry sources said.

The decision to eliminate the S-band Volume Search Radar (VSR) from the ship’s Dual Band Radar (DBR), announced June 1 as part of a program restructuring brought on by a Nunn-McCurdy breach, means the ship will rely on the Raytheon SPY-3 X-band Multi-Function Radar (MFR) as its primary radar.

The Navy was unwilling to discuss how much money the move will save.

One source said it would be at least $100 million per ship, while an industry source said it would be “at least” $200 million for each of the three planned Zumwalts.

In letters sent to Congress on June 1 to explain the Nunn-McCurdy breaches, DoD acquisition chief Ashton Carter also said the initial operational capability (IOC) for the Zumwalt had been shifted from 2015 to 2016.



unhappycamper comment: The Pentagon's response to Nunn-McCurdy breaches: "Required for National security". It works every time.