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In 2019, the world's shipbuilding industry continues to develop steadily, and countries/regions pay special attention to the adjustment of ships. The structure and capabilities of the shipbuilding industry will promote the development of the shipbuilding industry base; and in the fields of main battleships, key electronic equipment projects, shipboard weapons technology, mine countermeasures and large unmanned systems, ship power technology, and basic cutting-edge technologies. Make new progress.
1. Important progress in strategic needs
1. The U.S. Navy released the 30-year shipbuilding plan
html In March, the U.S. Navy released the "Long-term Naval Shipbuilding Plan for Fiscal Year 2020" (referred to as the "30-Year Shipbuilding Plan"). The new version of the "30-Year Shipbuilding Plan" outlines a new fleet construction plan. Compared with last year's shipbuilding plan, the growth rate of ships will slow down in the short term, but the fleet size of 355 ships will be reached and maintained faster. However, scaling up production can be challenging. General Dynamics Electric Boat Shipbuilding and Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding are jointly building Virginia-class attack submarines at a rate of two per year. At the same time, the U.S. Navy is about to face the task of starting construction of the "Columbia" class ballistic missile nuclear submarine. The construction workload of one ballistic missile nuclear submarine is equivalent to the workload of two attack nuclear submarines. Industry and congressional officials have expressed concern about the fragility of the supplier base, and that increased workloads could put greater pressure on suppliers.2. The U.S. Navy formulates a long-term plan for fleet maintenance/modernization
The U.S. Navy submitted a long-term plan for naval ship maintenance and modernization for fiscal year 2020 to Congress on March 21. This plan is a supplement to the Navy’s shipbuilding plan for fiscal year 2020 and provides efficient support to the Navy. Existing fleet investments provide the framework. The plan analyzes the congressional policy direction of the 355 warships in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act and points out: Fleet maintenance and modernization require sustained and adequate investment and close cooperation between state-owned and private ship repair companies; with the Navy's 355 warship plan As the fleet grows in size, complexity and age, the supply chain must provide the necessary material support to achieve required combat readiness. level; continuous maintenance work must be carried out in accordance with the applicable ship level maintenance plan to extend the service life of some ships and enable the Navy ships to reach their maximum service life in order to achieve the Navy's force goal of 355 ships.
2. Important progress in shipbuilding enterprises and capabilities
1. The U.S. Navy Special Office vigorously promotes the US$210 shipyard modernization plan
html On April 3, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) released information stating that the Naval Sea Systems Command shipyard infrastructure The Project Office Optimization Program (SIOP) (codenamed PMS-555) will centrally coordinate the recapitalization of the U.S. Navy's four state-owned shipyards. Established in June 2018, the office is currently working with the Naval Installations Command (CNIC) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) to recapitalize and modernize the infrastructure at four state-owned shipyards, including critical dry Shipyard repairs, restoration of required shipyard facilities and optimization of their layout, as well as replacement of aging and deteriorating related equipment. By executing this plan, the U.S. Navy's naval shipyards will increase productivity and better support the Navy's readiness.2. The U.S. Navy plans to use "digital twin" technology to improve the efficiency of state-owned ship repair yards.
The U.S. Navy is planning to introduce "digital twins" to four national shipyards, so that engineers can use modeling and simulation to determine the ideal plant configuration plan for the shipyard. ,Improve productivity. The virtual simulation effort is in the early stages as part of the U.S. Navy's 20-year, $21 billion effort to modernize and optimize state-owned shipyards, with a focus on workflow improvements and reduction of wasted hours in the shipyard's welding shop and pump and pipe shop. , new layout of material warehouse and office space.
3. The U.S. Norfolk Naval Shipyard opened a new submarine maintenance facility
html On June 14, the U.S. Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) opened a new submarine maintenance facility, marking the shipyard's move towards realizing the "Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan" "One step closer to the goal. The new facility, located adjacent to Norfolk Naval Shipyard's submarine dry dock, features a two-story structure with multiple workshops and storage spaces on the ground floor and offices and conference rooms on the upper level. The facility consolidates multiple workshops for submarine repair, construction and support into one A single facility.4. Taiwan held a groundbreaking ceremony for a local submarine construction factory
html On May 9, Taiwan held a groundbreaking ceremony for a local submarine construction factory at the Kaohsiung Port terminal. According to the plan, Kaohsiung Taiwan Shipbuilding Company will build a closed special-purpose factory that can accommodate three submarines at the same time. The construction project is expected to be completed by the end of 2020 to realize the vision of "domestic manufacturing of submarines" in Taiwan.5, Italian Fincantieri Shipbuilding Company and French Naval Group are advancing joint venture affairs
On October 30, Italian Fincantieri Shipbuilding Company and French Naval Group announced that they would name their joint venture "Navaris". The two state-owned shipbuilding companies aim to establish a joint venture to achieve interoperability and sharing in the supply chain, research and development and testing of military ships, and jointly build and sell military ships. According to the agreement reached between the two parties, the French Naval Group is currently using the design drawings of Fincantieri Shipbuilding Company to build its new logistics support ship. In the future, in addition to working together to upgrade the "Horizon" class frigates, the two parties will also jointly develop a new type of logistics support ship. European cruiser. In view of the decentralization of the European shipbuilding industry, both parties agree to integrate industrial strength through joint ventures to create a globally competitive shipbuilding enterprise.
3. Important progress in ship equipment and technology
1. Actively carry out the development of new main battleships and promote the upgrading of equipment systems
Countries are actively developing and improving new submarines. In February, the Singapore Navy's first Type 218SG submarine was launched at the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipyard in Germany and was officially named "Invincible". The boat is 70 meters long, uses AIP propulsion, is equipped with advanced combat systems, and can Carrying more task loads. In March, the Australian Department of Defense and French Naval Group signed a US$605 million future submarine design contract. The design of the hull structure details and the layout of major systems will be carried out according to the contract. In June, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced the conceptual design of a new generation of conventional submarine code-named "29SS". The submarine uses lithium-ion batteries and a more compact and efficient energy storage power supply system, which improves the water efficiency without increasing the size of the submarine. It has a high endurance and is equipped with a variety of newly developed systems and equipment. The first boat is expected to enter service in March 2022. In July, France's new generation attack nuclear submarine "Barracuda" first boat "Sophin" was launched. The boat adopts the relevant advanced technologies of the "Triumph" class ballistic missile nuclear submarine and a low-noise pump-jet propulsion system. It is planned to be launched in 2020 service.
actively carries out the development of new surface ships and the improvement of existing ships. In April, the Spanish Navy awarded a construction contract for five new F100 frigates. The ships are equipped with an upgraded combat management system and a new solid-state S-band radar. The first ship is expected to be delivered in 2025, and all deliveries will be completed by 2032. In June, the Russian Ministry of Defense launched the formulation of a tactical and technical mission statement for future aircraft carriers. It plans to release and start development work in 2023. The new aircraft carrier will use nuclear power units. It is expected that development and construction will take 15 years. In the same month, the U.S. Navy plans to start purchasing the next generation of large surface ships in 2025. The ship will use a new hull to carry mature systems in service, such as the "Aegis" combat system and AMDR-S/SPY-6 radar that will be used on the DDG51 III destroyer. , the comprehensive power system of DDG 1000 will be larger than the DDG51 III ship, with enough space to carry helicopters, unmanned systems, remote weapon systems and air defense command centers. It is currently in the demonstration stage. In the same month, the U.S. Navy issued the final tender document for the next-generation guided missile frigate FFG(X), which aims to build a first-class small surface ship with high-end combat capabilities. The new ship will adopt mature design and technology and have strong air defense, anti-submarine, and Anti-ship warfare capabilities.In July, the U.S. Navy received the first "Freedom"-class littoral combat ship "Indianapolis" equipped with Hensoldt's TRS-4D air/sea surveillance radar, marking the completion of a major upgrade and improvement of the ship's radar system. In the same month, the South Korean Navy plans to build a new amphibious assault ship with a displacement of about 30,000 tons. It is expected to be equipped with a ski-jump deck and is expected to enter service in the late 2020s. In August, BAE Systems plans to start building nine Hunter-class frigates for the Australian Navy in 2020. The ship adopts an acoustically silent hull, unique sonar capabilities, modular digital design and open system architecture. The U.S. Navy plans to begin replacing existing DDG 51IIA destroyers with Raytheon's SPY-6 series air defense and anti-missile radars in 2025 to improve radar sensitivity. South Korea plans to spend US$6 billion on the development and production of six new-generation "Aegis" destroyers. The ships will be developed locally by South Korea before the end of 2020. They will be equipped with an upgraded missile launch system and are expected to be deployed in the mid-to-late 2030s. After entering service, it will significantly enhance the air detection capabilities of the South Korean Navy.
2. Key projects of foreign naval ship electronic equipment have made progress.
The United States, India and France have actively developed collaborative command and control capabilities. In April, the U.S. Office of Naval Research planned to develop a beyond-visual-range target indication network, aiming to build cross-service and cross-platform networked collaborative operations capabilities. Different platforms can collaborate through the network to carry out beyond-visual-range target indication and strike missions. In May and September, the Indian and French navies respectively completed cooperative combat tests between two ships. One of the ships used the target data of the other ship to successfully launch anti-aircraft missiles to intercept air targets. The French Navy also plans to develop the use of airborne missiles to intercept air targets. Sensor data provides the ship with the ability to designate targets.
The U.S. Navy is developing a new generation of shipborne radar. In January, the SPY-6(V)1 "air and missile defense radar" successfully completed its last ballistic missile defense flight test. Its performance was exactly as expected. It will be delivered on time and equipped with the U.S. Navy's DDG51 III destroyer. In March, the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center awarded a US$28 million contract to develop a new generation of surface search radar, which is scheduled to be completed in 2021. The radar uses the latest digital technology and software-defined architecture core, and has a complete set of scalable, enhanced and optimized features. The high-performance algorithm significantly enhances the search capabilities in severe weather, anti-electronic interference capabilities, and detection capabilities of drones, periscopes, floating debris, and floating mines. In May, the U.S. Navy released a development plan for a new multi-mission fire control radar (MMFCR). The radar will integrate horizontal search functions with missile and naval gun fire control functions to provide improved Sea Sparrow missiles, "Standard" series missiles, and guided artillery shells. etc. provide tracking/illumination functions.
The United States and Japan have made a breakthrough in underwater communication technology. In January, the Japan Marine Research and Development Agency and Shimadzu Corporation developed a stable underwater laser communication equipment with a diameter of 15 cm and a height of 30 cm. The two-way communication rate reaches 100 Mbit/s and can be adjusted according to the turbidity of seawater. Laser wavelength, stable communication rate. In April, Stanford University in the United States demonstrated piezoelectric crystal very low frequency transmission technology, using a columnar lithium niobate piezoelectric crystal with a diameter of 1.6 cm and a height of 9.4 cm to emit very low frequency signals. The data transmission rate exceeded 100 bits/second at a distance of 100 feet. , it can be used on underwater combat platforms such as submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles in the future.
steadily carries out research and development of advanced electronic warfare systems or technologies. In May, the "Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Project" Block 3 began small batch production and is expected to be delivered to the Navy for testing in 2020 or 2021. The system has soft-kill coordination capabilities and can command shipboard and outboard soft-kill systems. The development of the "next-generation jammer" went smoothly. In May, the U.S. Navy provided an additional US$13.5 million to Northrop Grumman and an additional US$13.7 million to L-3 Company to accelerate the development of low-frequency pods so that they can be launched in June 2020. Demonstration and verification; in September, Raytheon delivered the first batch of 15 "Next Generation Jammer" mid-band engineering research and development prototypes to the U.S. Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron for mission system testing and certification.Vigorously developing distributed electronic warfare technology, in June, the Navy's electromagnetic maneuver warfare team tested the prototype and software developed by the airborne fusion technology software and hardware experimental demonstration project. The system aims to develop an airborne electronic warfare mission coordination system and enhance MH -60R helicopter and ship platform collaborative electronic warfare capabilities; in July, the U.S. Office of Naval Research issued a solicitation announcement for the "Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare Resource Allocation Management" project, aiming to develop advanced algorithms and software to conduct electronic warfare resources on different platforms. Adaptive management enables autonomous distributed electronic warfare at the tactical level.
3. New shipborne weapon technology is developing steadily
Europe is making every effort to promote the development of shipborne tactical laser weapons , striving to form combat effectiveness in a short time. The UK is effectively promoting the development of the "Dragon Fire" ship-based laser weapon and is expected to begin land testing in 2020. It plans to allocate 130 million pounds to support the research and development of three types of laser weapons including the "Dragon Fire". In February, Rheinmetall completed comprehensive testing of the laser weapon station, with the maximum output power of the laser source being 100 kilowatts. In March, MBDA built a "universal vulnerability testing laboratory" in France to study the damage performance of laser weapons. In August, Rheinmetall and MBDA revealed that they would jointly develop high-energy laser weapons for the German Navy.
The new ship-based air defense missile has entered the practical stage. In June, the British Type 23 frigate test-fired the "Ocean Sensor" air defense missile system and successfully intercepted a high-speed sea-skimming drone, verifying the effectiveness of the missile system. In August, the "Improved Sea Sparrow" II medium-range air defense missile using active terminal guidance technology began small batch production. In the future, the US Navy will build an active terminal with the "Standard"-6 and "Improved Sea Sparrow" II as the backbone. The guided medium and long-range air defense weapon system will break through the limitations of ship fire channels on air defense capabilities, and will comprehensively improve its ability to resist saturation attacks and intercept small sea-skimming targets.
extended-range technology promotes the improvement of the main anti-ship missile combat capabilities. In March, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that it would further increase the range of the ASM-3 supersonic anti-ship missile, and the missile range will reach 400 kilometers. In July, Russia announced that it would increase the range of its existing Kh-35 "Uranus" anti-ship missiles. The extended range of the Kh-35U will reach 260 kilometers, which is double the current model. In the same month, the U.S. Department of Defense signed a $175 million contract with Lockheed Martin to further enhance the range of the "long-range anti-ship missile". The upgrade is expected to be completed in November 2022.
4. Countries are actively promoting the development of mine countermeasures and large-scale unmanned systems.
Mine countermeasures unmanned systems continue to develop rapidly. In January, the U.S. Navy's "Knifefish" heavy-duty mine countermeasures unmanned submarine entered the initial small batch production stage. The boat is an important part of the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship mine countermeasures mission package and can detect and identify mines in complex ocean environments. , classification operations, a total of 30 ships are planned to be purchased. In June, the mine countermeasures demonstration system developed by Thales is accelerating its integration, testing and identification, and is scheduled to be delivered to France and the United Kingdom in April 2020. The system has the ability to autonomously detect, classify, identify and clear mines. In September, the U.S. Navy tested a new mine-countermeasures unmanned surface vehicle. The boat uses an all-aluminum hull and can be equipped with a variety of mine-countermeasures loads. It can perform a variety of minesweeping tasks such as detection, identification, classification and positioning.
focuses on the development of large-scale maritime unmanned systems. In January, the Russian Navy planned to purchase 32 "Poseidon" nuclear-powered unmanned submarines that can carry nuclear warheads. The submarines have intercontinental range, are powerful, and can destroy enemy naval bases. In February, the U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $43 million contract to build four "Orca" ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles (XLUUV). All are expected to be delivered in June 2022. The submarine uses a modular payload bay and standardized interfaces, capable of conducting mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare and strike missions. In April, the British Ministry of Defense will invest US$3.3 million to support the design, modification and testing of ultra-large unmanned undersea vehicles to verify the ability of ultra-large unmanned undersea vehicles to perform tasks such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. In August, the U.S. Navy revealed that it would build 10 large unmanned surface ships (LUSV) with high endurance and modular functions.LUSV can carry radar and sonar, be equipped with anti-aircraft missiles and cruise missiles, and has the ability to operate independently or jointly with surface forces.
5. Foreign ship power technology transformation and breakthroughs coexist
Conventional submarines have made breakthroughs in air-independent propulsion (AIP) system technology. In July, French Naval Group announced an important breakthrough in its second-generation submarine AIP system (ie, fuel cell system). The system can continuously cruise underwater for 18 days in a simulated combat environment, with a hydrogen recovery and utilization rate of 99% and lower noise. In September, Germany's Thyssenkrupp Maritime Systems released its fourth-generation fuel cell (FC4G) for submarines, saying that the battery had completed 70,000 hours of testing and had made important progress in terms of availability, redundancy, and stealth. .
Ship power system technology is developing rapidly. In January, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command issued a request for information on a multi-purpose shipborne energy bank, aiming to establish a universal, modular, and scalable intermediate power system for high-power shipborne directed energy weapon systems. In May, the U.S. Navy began to evaluate the feasibility of using shipboard directed energy to power unmanned boats and drones. Plans include building speedboats equipped with charging pads and using directed energy systems on mother ships to power surface or air unmanned systems. Wireless charging. Relevant research is expected to be completed later this year, and it will take another 2 to 4 years to develop requirements and conduct actual testing. In June, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command released the "Naval Power and Energy System Technology Development Roadmap," which clarified that the integrated power system will develop from the current high-voltage AC to medium-voltage DC, and proposed to focus on the development of energy with energy storage as the core. library systems and proposes power requirements associated with maritime unmanned systems.
advances unmanned underwater vehicle battery and power system technology. In February, the U.S. lithium-ion fault-tolerant (LiFT) battery system principle prototype entered the development and testing stage. The battery adopts a single-cell fault-tolerant modular design, has fewer faults, stable supply, and high safety, and can meet the needs of manned boats and unmanned submarines. need. In March, the aluminum power system developed in the United States completed the power supply demonstration and verification of a remotely controlled submarine for the first time in a condition assurance test tank. This system can be integrated with the fuel cell system, and its energy output is 10 times that of conventional batteries. It is safe and has high specific energy. It can truly realize an underwater "gas station" and support long-range underwater operations of unmanned underwater vehicles.
6. Basic cutting-edge technologies continue to make new progress.
The research and development of new materials can optimize the maintainability and stealth capabilities of equipment. In January, the Korea Institute of Materials Science prepared a high-temperature radar absorbing material by coating the surface of reticulated porous alumina (RPA) with metallic cobalt, which can reduce X-band reflection loss; in March, Case Western Reserve University in the United States The researchers oxidized the metal to form a nanostructure on its surface through simple heat treatment. The absorption rate of visible light in a specific frequency band exceeds 99%. It has significant application prospects in fields such as electromagnetic shielding and stealth. In January, Northwestern University in the United States developed a new self-healing coating using a microcapsule method. It has good stability, can quickly self-heal, and can effectively prevent local corrosion of metals.
The U.S. Navy accelerates the development of artificial intelligence applications. In April, the United States developed the world's first auxiliary decision-making system that provides real-time soft-kill self-defense solutions for ships through expert learning. The system can quickly provide auxiliary decision-making information such as required soft-kill countermeasures and launch timing based on the type, quantity, orientation, and speed of incoming missiles. The effect is significantly better than expert judgment. In September, the Hughes Institute launched the "Causal Adaptive Decision Assistance System" (CADA) project. The system captures massive data from multi-source intelligence and uses machine learning technology to automatically generate a list of action priority recommendations for the naval command center. In November, the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific awarded Parsons a nearly US$300 million contract to apply the latest artificial intelligence/machine learning technology to conduct comprehensive computer vision analysis of video data from different sources and automatically extract valuable intelligence information.
4. Conclusion
In 2019, countries/regions have attached greater importance to the development of the shipbuilding industry base, promoting shipyard construction and supporting the development of naval equipment by increasing investment and transforming shipyard facilities.In terms of platforms, the focus is on the development and construction of new types of ships; in terms of systems and equipment, maritime powers such as the United States and Europe have continued to make breakthroughs in the development and application of underwater communications, ship power technology, and cutting-edge technologies.
(Blue Star: Kou Yujing Liu Zhenghua)
1
Overview of the development of underwater acoustic communication technology in Europe
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Overview of the development of DARPA intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology
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Overview of cutting-edge technology progress in functional materials in the ship field
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Overview of the development of underwater detection technology in the United States
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Overview of the development of DARPA artificial intelligence technology
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