scott mullich's paper

7/30/2019 Scott Mullich's paper

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Scott Mullich

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

English 1103

11/01/12

A Global Force for Good: The Ships and Weapons of the U.S. Navy

James L. George, in his book History of Warships, makes the claim that Navies are about

warships, many different kinds of warships. (George xi) If one takes a closer look at the modern

U.S. Navy, they would be inclined to agree. Until I began this research on this topic, I had no

idea just how impressive this nations navy is; how massive the battle fleet is, how many

different ship types and classes there are, and the various offensive and defensive weapons and

technology on board. As I delved deeper, however, I discovered just exactly what the capabilities

of the U.S. Navy are.

According to the U.S. Navys website, there are seven types of warship active in the battle

force today: aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, cruisers, littoral assault ships, destroyers,

frigates, and submarines. Throughout the years, each of these ship types have transformed and

evolved, becoming more and more advanced as competition and the ever-changing fields of war

drive innovation. As of today, there is one class of cruiser, destroyer, and frigate; two classes of

carriers, amphibious assault ships, and littoral combat ships; and three classes of submarines in

operation. All serve a specific purpose, from air support to fleet protection to nuclear deterrent,

and accordingly, armaments have been developed to suit each one.

Aircraft carriers are generally considered to be the heart of any nations naval force, and the

U.S. Navy is certainly no exception. Currently, there are two classes of carriers in operation: one


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Enterprise class aircraft carrier, designated CVN 65, and nine Nimitz class aircraft carriers,

designated CVN 68 77. These ten vessels are the core of both individual battle groups and the

U.S. Navy as a whole. Each one can hold sixty or more fixed and/or rotary wing aircraft, and

over five thousand sailors, pilots, and support staff. The offensive capabilities of these carriers lie

in their hangar bays. Essentially, a carrier is just a mobile air base, which is an invaluable tool in

twenty-first century warfare. Depending on its mission, an aircraft carrier may have anything

from attack fighters and helicopters to supply and troop transports safely encased within its

walls. In order to protect its massive crew and aircraft compliment, the Enterprise and Nimitz

class aircraft carriers are outfitted with primary, secondary, and tertiary defense systems: NATO

(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) RIM7 Sea Sparrow mounts, MK15 Phalanx CIWS

(Close-in Weapons Systems) mounts, and RIM116 RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) mounts.

The RIM7 Sea Sparrow mounts provide a mid-range surface-to-air defense umbrella around the

ship. The missiles are guided by a radar uplink that feeds information continuously into the

missiles targeting computer. Sea Sparrows are primarily used to target and eliminate hostile

missiles. Similarly, RIM116 RAM mounts are a secondary defense system, with lighter radar-

guided missiles made to destroy any threat that slips through the RIM7 umbrella. Phalanx

CIWS, on the other hand, are short range, radar guided, 20mm gun platforms. The Phalanx

mounts are designed to rapidly detect and eliminate any hostile target that manages to evade the

principal and ancillary missile umbrellas, both in the air and on the sea. This three layer defense,

universally coordinated by state-of-the-art radar systems and trained weapons specialists, in

addition to any support ships that are assigned as escorts, make the prospect of launching an

attack on an aircraft carrier very daunting.


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Unlike aircraft carriers, cruisers arent built to serve a single purpose. These warships are

slotted into both supporting and leading roles within fleets. Capable of Air Warfare (AW),

Undersea Warfare (USW), Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS), Surface Warfare (SUW), Strike

Warfare (SW), and in some cases, Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), cruisers are the combat

powerhouses of the modern U.S. Navy, not unlike the long extinct battleship of the early-to-mid

twentieth century. Currently, there are twenty two commissioned Ticonderoga class cruisers,

designated CG 5273, with homeports at most major U.S. and Japanese naval bases. Each vessel

has a crew compliment of thirty officers and three hundred enlisted sailors, along with two SH

60 Seahawk (LAMPS III) helicopters. The modern cruiser is heavily armed with both offensive

and defensive weapons systems: the MK41 vertical launching system with both Standard and

AntiSubmarine (ASROC) missiles, Tomahawk Cruise missiles, MK46 torpedoes fired from

two triple mounts, two MK45 5inch 54 caliber lightweight guns, and two Phalanx CIWS. In

addition, a select number of cruisers also have Ballistic Missile Defense capability. All of the

weapons systems on a cruiser are coordinated by the state-of-the-art Aegis combat system, which

is a multi-function phased-array radar with the capacity to coordinate missile launches, search for

and track enemy missiles, and target up to one hundred enemy combatants simultaneously. Such

a variety of weapons allows the cruiser to be prepared for almost any combat situation, therefore

expanding its role within a battle group.

Destroyers bear some similarities to cruisers. While the destroyer is lighter and more agile

than the larger warship, it possesses some of the same multi-mission capabilities as the cruiser,

ranging from escorting carriers and cruisers, to protecting and supporting landbased naval

attacks, to forming independent strike groups for special missions. Also, like the cruiser, it is

bristling with offensive and defensive weapons. As of today, there are sixty-two Arleigh Burke


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class destroyers, designated DDG 51112, active in the U.S. Navys battle force, either docked at

major naval ports in the United States and Japan or carrying out missions at sea. Each carries a

maximum of two-hundred and seventy-six sailors and officers, as well as two LAMPS MK III

MH60 B/R helicopters armed with Penguin/Hellfire missiles and MK46/MK50 torpedoes.

Beyond that, there are six different weapons systems aboard the small craft, nearly mirroring the

armament of the larger, heavier cruiser: both Standard and ASROC vertical launch missiles, a

compliment of Tomahawk cruise missiles, MK46 torpedoes launched via two triple mounts,

and five MK45 guns, all of which, save for the last, are coordinated by the Aegis combat

system. Combined with its speed, maneuverability, and number, the Arleigh Burke class

destroyer is considered to be the deadliest naval combat vessel ever put to sea.

The frigate could be considered the younger brother of the destroyer, with its similar size and

crew capacity. Unfortunately, however, it has much more limited mission potential, and therefore

is gradually losing its place in an ever advancing U.S. Navy. Unlike the diversely capable

destroyer, the nineteen Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates currently commissioned, designated

FFG 3638, 4043, and 4561, are used mostly for protection of shipping lines (POS), anti-

submarine warfare (ASW), and, in some cases, combat and support vessels for amphibious

expeditionary groups. Armed with MK46 torpedoes fired from two triple mounts, one 76mm 62

caliber MK75 rapid fire gun, and one Phalanx CIWS, frigates are lightly equipped

comparatively speaking, which limits their potential for modification and modernization.

The next warship type differs in purpose from all previous vessels. While aircraft carriers,

cruisers, destroyers, and frigates all operate entirely in open water, playing only supporting roles

to land-based forces when called for, amphibious assault ships are built specifically to carry and

deliver troops, vehicles, and aircraft to hostile shores. More specifically, they are designed to


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serve the Marine Corps, including the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the Marine

Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), providing quick-in and quick-out naval support for special

operations. If the aircraft carrier is the naval air base, the amphibious assault ship is the naval

launch pad, capable of holding and launching landing craft, helicopters, and Harrier attack jets.

Currently there are nine amphibious assault ships in service, subdivided into the Wasp and

Tarawa classes, designated LHD 18 and LHA 45, respectively. They are generally similar,

both able to carry up to twenty nine aircraft, though the Wasp class has a higher crew

compliment and lower Marine/landing craft detachment than the Tarawa class. The Wasp class is

also slightly more heavily armed with defensive weapons, with two RAM and NATO Sea

Sparrow mounts, three Phalanx 20mm CIWS mounts, four .50 caliber machine guns, and four

25mm MK38 machine guns, as opposed to two Phalanxes, three .50 caliber guns, and three

25mm guns aboard each Tarawa class warship. Since the first ship was commissioned to the

present day, the U.S. Navy has had the largest maintained amphibious fleet in the world, giving

the nation a vital tactical advantage in modern warfare.

Littoral combat ships are similar to amphibious assault ships in that both are built to operate

near the shore and in open waters. Its primary purpose, however, is quite different. Instead of a

means of deploying soldiers and equipment, littoral combat ships are tasked with combating

small surface ships, diesel submarines, and to search for and destroy underwater mines. It is the

youngest ship type in the U.S. Navys active battle fleet, with the deployment of LCS 1 in early

2010. There are three littoral combat ships in service today, subdivided into two variants: the

Freedom variant, designated LCS 1 and 3, and the Independence variant, designated LCS 2.

Unlike any other modern warship, it has no offensive or defensive systems aboard, relying on


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escort vessels for protection from potential threats. Despite having no weapons, the littoral

combat ship still serves a crucial purpose for the benefit of the fleet as a whole.

The last type of combat vessel active in the U.S. Navy today might also be one of the most

interesting: the submarine. As the only vessel capable of undersea travel and combat, the

submarine plays a unique and vital role in modern naval warfare. Currently, there are one

hundred and eleven commissioned submarines in the U.S. Navy, divided into three types: attack

submarines, fleet ballistic missile submarines, and fleet guided missile submarines. The attack

type is subdivided into the Virginia, Seawolf, and Los Angeles classes, designated SSN 774

782, 2123, and 698773 respectively, while the fleet ballistic and guided missile types are both

Ohio class submarines, designated SSBN 730743 and SSGN 726779, respectively. All three

types are armed according to their purpose. On one hand, there are the attack submarines. These

nuclear powered vessels are commissioned to hunt surface and subsurface enemy combatants,

engage in land/sea warfare with long range missile strike capability, carry out Intelligence,

Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, and support surface battle groups via escort

and mine clearing operations. Each class of attack submarine has similar armaments, with

variances according to age. All are equipped with Tomahawk missiles and MK48 torpedoes

launched from four or eight torpedo tubes, but only later models of the Los Angeles class and the

newer Virginia class submarines come armed with Vertical Launch System (VLS) tubes. There

are over fifty attack submarines currently in surface, making it the second most numerous ship

type in the U.S. Navys battle force, second only to the Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Ballistic

and guided missile submarines serve slightly different purposes, however. The Ohio class vessels

designated SSBN 730743 provide the United States with comprehensive, far-reaching nuclear

strike capability. This fact alone deters all hostile nations with nuclear weapons from planning


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attacks against the U.S. mainland. The Ohio class SSBN has twenty four tubes for Trident II D5

ballistic missile launch, as well as a compliment of MK48 torpedoes for mid-range offensive

action, should the occasion arise. On the other hand, the Ohio class submarines designated

SSGN 726729 serve as covert tactical missile platforms to communicate with and support

Special Operations Forces (SOF) overseas. They are armed with up to 154 Tomahawk missiles,

loaded into seven shot Multiple-All-Up-Round Canisters (MACs), which are then loaded into

up to twenty-two vertical launch missile tubes, and the standard compliment of MK48

torpedoes. Altogether, the U.S. Navys submarine force is the largest and most powerful in the

entire world.

Eric J. Labs, in his recent Congressional Budget Office testimony, says that The U.S. Navys

current 287 ship fleet consists of 239 combat ships 48 logistics and support ships. (Labs 3)

While the latter category of ships are important, they do not instill the same confidence in allies

and fear in foes as the U.S. Navys massive fleet of combat vessels. Developed and maintained

by experts in organizations like NAVSESS (Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station) (Woody

111-114), armed with state-of-the-art weapons, and manned by the best and bravest of the

worlds sailors, its not hard to see why the United States has dominated the seas for more than

half a century.


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Works Cited

Friedman, Norman. Seapower and Space: From the Dawn of the Missile Age to Net-Centric

Warfare. Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2000. Print.

George, James L.History of Warships: From Ancient Times to the Twenty-First Century.

Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1998. Print.

Labs, Eric J. The Long-Term Outlook for the U.S. Navy's Fleet: Statement of Eric J. Labs,

Senior Analyst for Naval Forces and Weapons, Before the Subcommittee on Seapower

and Expeditionary Forces, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of

Representatives. Washington, D.C: Congressional Budget Office (2010). Web. 12 Oct.

2012.

Woody, Patricia C. "Celebrating The NAVSSES Centennial: A Reflection Of Our Future."

Naval Engineers Journal123.2 (2011): 111-114. International Security & Counter

Terrorism Reference Center. Web. 18 Oct. 2012.

(Question about government web site citation, save for class)

You have a well-structured paper. I can tell you put a lot of work into getting all

the ships names in and telling readers about all the weapons. Which is why I feel bad

saying this next part I feel that your paper lacked a connection to the readers. It was

mostly just data after facts after ship code names. There wasnt a lot of things to question


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or things that kept the reader interested. It might have helped if you included more quotes

throughout the paper.it also might have benefited you to talk about the history of some

ships. I didnt know half of all the weapons you were talking about and if they were more

powerful than the next one. Try to give more examples so it is easier for the readers to

understand just how powerful submarines missiles are. And you got to cite stuff; I know

you probably already know that too. There are also a few grammatical errors you might

want to quickly check. Overall I can tell you worked hard on this paper.

scott mullich's paper

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