The Weapon Systems business unit of BAE Systems is set to deliver two gun mounts for the land-attack Advanced Gun System (AGS) to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works early next year for installation on the Zumwalt (DDG-1000), the first of the Navy’s three planned new land-attack destroyers.
Dave Johnson, director of the DDG-1000 program at BAE, said that the magazines for the gun mounts already have been installed aboard the ship, which is scheduled for launch in July 2013 and delivery to the Navy in 2014. In the modular construction approach for the class, the magazines are fully integrated with the hull design.
In September, the Navy awarded General Dynamics/Bath a contract valued at $1.8 billion for construction of the second and third ships, the Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) to be delivered in December 2015, and the as-yet unnamed DDG-1002, scheduled for delivery in February 2018.
In October, BAE won a contract worth up to $168 million, with options, for production of the AGS system for DDG-1002. The company completed factory-acceptance testing for the magazine modules for DDG-1001, aiming at delivery to Bath in early 2012.
The AGS is designed to fire the 155-mm six-inch, rocket-assisted long-range land-attack projectile (LRLAP), at land targets to ranges in the vicinity of 70 nautical miles—the DDG-1000 mission. The ships will be fitted out with two systems forward of the deckhouse, supported by a 300-round magazine for a total of 600 rounds per ship. The AGS will be capable of firing 10 rounds per minute, a rate that, according to Johnson, can be sustained for the entire 300-round magazine. The gun barrel and recoil components are cooled by an active liquid cooling system that prevents overheating during firing.
In keeping with the DDG-1000 approach of minimizing manning—each ship will be manned by a 148-man crew—the AGS is unmanned and fully automated for loading and firing operations. The system receives firing orders through the DDG-1000 total-ship computing environment (TSCE), a shipwide network produced by Raytheon, prime for DDG-1000 systems integration. The TSCE, developed uniquely for the Zumwalt program, is fully compliant with the Navy’s Open Architecture mandate for ship computing systems. The TSCE integrates all ship communications and control systems, as well as ship radars and other sensors, and passes firing commands to the gun system. Johnson said the AGS will be the largest six-inch gun system developed for a surface combatant. The company, formerly United Defense Industries, capitalizes on its longtime experience building Navy surface-ship large-caliber gun systems, including the Mk 45 gun in service with the Navy’s Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke–class destroyers. BAE Systems acquired United Defense in June 2005.
Johnson pointed out that the AGS gun-mount and magazine design work, as well as design and development of the LRLAP round, has been closely integrated “from the ground up” with the overall design approach for the Zumwalt class.
BAE Systems also is prime contractor for the LRLAP, teamed with Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business unit. The round is in development, with Lockheed Martin working on test hardware. Johnson said that while the AGS is too large for any other U.S. or foreign surface combatant, the company is exploring potential opportunities for a scaled-down variant, with some reduced capability, that could be adapted for an extensively modified Burke-class DDG-51. The Burke program, originally planned to end with DDG-112, is being restarted with the aim of eventually fielding a Flight III design. The Flight III ships, beginning with DDG-122, will incorporate a range of new combat-system, sensor, hull, and mechanical/electrical systems and capabilities.