DD-21 Land Attack Destroyer

UNCLASSIFIED MISSION NEED STATEMENT FOR A 21ST CENTURY SURFACE COMBATANT

1. DEFENSE PLANNING GUIDANCE ELEMENT

a. This Mission Need Statement (MNS) provides requirements for expeditionary force surface combatants for the 21st Century. The multi-mission capabilities are comprised of the combat suite and the hull, mechanical and electrical systems needed to establish and ensure battlespace dominance for expeditionary, interagency, joint and allied forces. These forces must operate wherever required, particularly in littoral waters, to enable joint maritime expeditionary force operations and project precise strike power ashore. The mission capabilities must be fully interoperable with other naval, interagency, joint and allied forces. b. This unclassified MNS in part addresses the Department of Defense "Defense Planning Guidance, FY 1995 - 1999," dated 28 September 1993, requiring the United States to: "...continue to field first rate military forces capable of performing their missions in a wide range of operations." (p.1) "...capitalize on advanced technology and modernize our weapons and support systems selectively to ensure we retain superior capabilities" (p.14) c. This MNS should guide 21st Century surface combatant design, research, development and acquisition program decisions, service and joint doctrine, and cooperative efforts with U.S. allies.

2. MISSION AND THREAT ANALYSIS

a. Mission. The general mission of this ship is to provide independent forward presence and operate as an integral part of joint and allied maritime expeditionary warfare operations. More specifically, the mission is to carry the war to the enemy through offensive operations: a) by being able to launch and support precision strike weapons and to provide firepower support for amphibious and other ground forces, and b) by protection of friendly forces from enemy attack through the establishment and maintenance of battlespace dominance against theater missile, air, surface, and sub-surface threats. b. Objectives. The 21st Century surface combatant must have flexibility to meet the multi-mission requirements while, at the same time, employing a nearly "puncture proof" self defense capability against all varieties of threats envisioned for a littoral environment. It must provide a defensive umbrella for strategic seaports, airports, and other essential logistics facilities in the littoral area of operations. It must be interoperable with other Naval expeditionary, interagency, joint, and allied forces under the C4I for the Warrior/Copernicus architecture. The 21st Century surface combatant must contribute to open ocean surface, air, and sub-surface dominance since successful littoral operations depend upon control of the sea beyond the sea-land interface. c. Capabilities. (1) Power Projection - The ship must destroy or neutralize enemy targets ashore through the use of coordinated, precision strike weapons, including vertically launched cruise and advanced tactical ballistic missiles. These targets include enemy tactical missile launch units (fixed and relocatable) and their supporting command and control and logistics infrastructures. The ship must also provide sustained over-the-horizon and near-shore Naval Surface Fire Support for amphibious and other ground forces. The ship must provide adequate vertical launch and ammunition magazine capacity to meet both power projection and battlespace dominance requirements. It must be capable of conducting cooperative engagements with other ships, submarines, aircraft, space and land systems. (2) Battlespace Dominance - To support regional expeditionary, joint and allied force operations, maintain sea lines of communication and defend air and sea ports of embarkation/debarkation, the 21st Century surface combatant must destroy or neutralize enemy surface and land forces, merchant shipping, submarines, and aircraft. The ship must also protect friendly forces from enemy missile attack (including tactical ballistic missiles). It must provide all-source identification beyond maximum range of associated weapons to avoid restrictions that would reduce force effectiveness and to minimize fratricide in a joint environment. The ship must be able to embark and support armed rotary-wing aircraft, and conduct rotary-wing and vertical takeoff aircraft operations. (3) Command, Control and Surveillance - The ship must be fully interoperable with other Naval expeditionary, interagency, joint, and allied forces, and with space and ground based sensors under the C4I for the Warrior/Copernicus architecture. The ship must permit timely and reliable Meteorological and Oceanographic Conditions (METOC) communication and must have the capability to monitor the environment continuously and precisely, and interface directly with the combat systems and associated Tactical Decision Aid software. The communications suite must have an integrated database capable of interfacing in a Joint Task Force/Combined Task Force (JTF/CTF) environment to include compatibility with joint systems such as the Global Command and Control System (GCCS), the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS) and the Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System (JDISS). It must be designed to be a tactical operational extension using Tactical Command Center (TCC) and Tactical Data Information Exchange System (TADIX) within the emerging Joint Communications Planning and Management System. The ship must have a full suite of radios and antennas to support full connectivity via EHF/SHF/UHF SATCOM using full DAMA for each circuit. The ship must have an organic cryptologic capability designed to collect, process and geolocate signals of interest in order to describe and fully exploit the electronic battle space. Cryptologic capability is required to provide near real-time indications and warning and situational awareness to tactical decision makers to and to support CO situational awareness, coordinate actions with other forces and communicate the ship's actions to appropriate commanders. Connectivity must include seamless integration for both organic and off-ship sensor inputs to shooter actions. (4) Survivability - The preceding capabilities cannot be accomplished unless the ship can protect itself, avoid soft-kill sensors and systems, degrade gracefully, fight hurt and survive. Reduced surface combatant force structure requires nearly "puncture-proof" self defense capabilities as well as inherent survivability. This implies a capability for the 21st Century surface combatant to be highly successful in environmentally difficult littoral regions at engaging attacking missiles and torpedoes as well as being very effective at detecting, locating and avoiding surface, moored and bottom mines. This active defensive capability must be backed by a passive defensive capability, including stealth design or radar cross section reduction, signal intercept exploitation, and acoustic signature reduction. Additionally, it must have a highly survivable total ship design with adequate combat suite and ship system redundancy to ensure graceful degradation of capability to make the total loss of the ship highly unlikely even if hit. The ship's design must also minimize manning requirements to reduce the number of personnel placed at risk, while providing the maximum defense against exposure to weapons of mass destruction. (5) Mobility - The ship must steam to design capability and maneuver in formation at sustained Naval expeditionary force speeds. The design must provide sufficient machinery redundancy for graceful degradation of mobility and survivability. The ship must be able to perform seamanship, airmanship and navigation tasks; prevent and control damage; replenish at sea and be able to rearm vertically launched (VLS) weapons in theater. (6) Fleet Support Operations - Conduct in-flight refueling of rotary wing aircraft; conduct Search and Rescue (SAR) operations; and provide routine health care, first aid assistance, triage and resuscitation. (7) Non-Combat Operations - The ship must provide emergency and disaster assistance; support operations to evacuate noncombatant personnel in areas of civil or international crisis; support and conduct vertical takeoff and/or rotary wing aircraft operations; provide unit-level upkeep and maintenance; provide own unit administration and supply support; and, maintain the health and well-being of the crew.

3. NON-MATERIAL ALTERNATIVES

Mission Area Analyses were conducted as part of the Destroyer Variant Study and 21st Century Surface Combatant Study. These analyses determined that changes in doctrine, operational concepts, tactics, organization and training are not sufficient to address deficiencies. a. U.S. or Allied doctrine: Doctrine changes required without a 21st Century surface combatant would include: Acceptance of regional hegemony of Third World military powers; inability to project expeditionary force strike power from the sea; severely degraded ability to project precise strike power against land targets; inability to maintain meaningful, visible forward presence for coalition building. b. Operational concepts: A 21st Century surface combatant, optimized to leverage technology to perform multiple roles in both open ocean and littoral warfare environments, will be needed to execute the operational concepts contained in the Joint Maritime Strategy. c. Tactics: Tactics calling for insertion of sea based forces into littoral waters early in a crisis or conflict to deter, contain or control aggression early will entail unacceptable risk to other naval expeditionary and land-based forces. Further, these tactics would be based on obsolescent technology through out inability to cost-effectively modernize existing surface ships and maintain our technology edge over potential adversaries. d. Organization: Increased forward basing and double crewing of surface combatants were deemed to be infeasible alternatives to acquisition of a 21st Century surface combatant. These alternatives would provide insufficient assets for crisis management or joint warfighting in a single or nearly simultaneous two MRC contingency. e. Training: Future surface combatants must be ready to fight simultaneous multi-warfare engagements in littoral warfare that will proceed so rapidly crew response times will be insufficient, and place the crew and ship at risk. Training alternatives offering the potential to maintain force capability in a smaller force manned with fewer personnel rely heavily on holistic, embedded training. This training capability must be an integral part of the total ship architecture called out as a mission need in a 21st Century Combatant. Without the opportunity to implement this training initiative, the Navy will be forced to continue and expand expensive, off-board training programs.

4. POTENTIAL MATERIEL ALTERNATIVES

a. Alternative design concepts include: (1) new conventional ship designs (2) a mod repeat DDG 51 (3) Advanced/unconventional hull forms (4) Modular ship b. The ongoing DDG 51 acquisition program could potentially address this need through a mod repeat program by capitalizing on advanced technology. However, to do this, it would need to employ a significantly different architectural approach in the design. c. As part of their shipbuilding programs, various Allies have combat, hull, mechanical and electrical system programs ongoing or under development that offer possible cooperative opportunities. These subsystem designs will be examined. All meaningful cooperative opportunities can be realized without a formal cooperative development program for a 21st Century surface combatant.

5. CONSTRAINTS a. Key Boundary Conditions.

(1) Architecture - The ship design must employ a total ship architectural/engineering approach that optimizes life cycle cost and performance; minimizes operating conflicts; permits rapid upgrade and change in response to evolving operational requirements; allows computational and communication resources to keep technological pace with commercial capabilities; and provides the capability to survive and fight hurt. More specifically this implies physical element modularity; functional sharing of hardware; open systems information architecture; ship wide resource management; automation of Command, Control, Communications, and Computers (C4I), combat engineering, and navigation functions; integrated ship wide data management; automation and minimization of maintenance and administrative functions; and embedded training. The approach should also promote commonality of design among ship classes. (2) Design - Consideration should be given to the maximum use of modular designs in the surface combatant's infrastructure. Emerging technologies must be accounted for during the developmental phase. Modern, flexible information processing must be built into any new weapon system. Since communication and data systems hold the greatest potential for growth, and therefore obsolescence, their installations must be modularized as much as possible to allow for future upgrades. Use standard man-to-machine interfaces among the systems onboard. The man-to-machine interfaces should be consistent with existing user friendly systems. (3) Personnel - The ship must be automated to a sufficient degree to realize significant manpower reductions in engineering, combat systems, ship support and Condition III watchstanding requirements. Reduced manning concepts used by NATO Navies should be reviewed to leverage advanced technologies and future advanced technology concepts in an effort to minimize shipboard manning requirements. Preventive maintenance manpower requirements must be reduced by incorporating self-analysis features in equipment designs, and by selecting materials and preservatives which minimize corrosion. A Manpower, Personnel and Training (MPT) analysis will be performed in accordance with OPNAVINST 5311.7 (HARDMAN). This analysis will recommend options to exploit the use of technology to reduce MPT requirements. Trade-offs which reduce MPT requirements will be favored during design and development. Final MPT determination will be documented and validated in a Navy Training Plan in accordance with OPNAVINST 1500.8 (4) Backfit - Major functional elements of a 21st Century surface combatant must be applicable to other forward fit ship construction programs. Consideration must also be given to the ability to retrofit into existing AEGIS cruisers and destroyers; however this must not be done at the expense of achieving performance in new construction. b. Operational Constraints. (1) The 21st Century surface combatant must remain fully functional and operational in all environments, whether conducting independent or force operations, in heavy weather or in the presence of electromagnetic, nuclear, biological and chemical contamination and/or shock effects from nuclear and conventional weapon attack. (2) Any 21st Century surface combatant must meet the survivability requirements of Level III as defined in OPNAVINST 9070.1. Topside system components shall be decontaminable through use of a countermeasure wash down system and portable Decontamination (DECON) methods. (3) The 21st Century surface combatant must provide helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) landing and hangaring facilities, and ammunition storage for operational support of multi-mission armed helicopters. (4) The ship must be able to operate in U.S., foreign, and international waters in full compliance with existing U.S. and international pollution control laws and regulations. (5) All ship and combat system elements must make use of standard subsystems and meet required development practices. The 21st Century surface combatant must be fully integrated with other U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, joint and allied forces, and other agencies (e.g., Theater Air Defense Architecture) in combined, coordinated operations. For example, linkage with standard data based from the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) will minimize ancillary costs and promote maximum interoperability with the widest number of weapon and sensor systems. Joint goals for standardization and interoperability with the widest number of weapon and sensor systems. Joint goals for standardization and interoperability will be achieved to the maximum feasible extent. (6) The ship must be able to embark Special Operations Forces (SOF) when required for selected missions. (7) The ship must be able to transit through the Panama Canal (PANAMAX).

6. JOINT POTENTIAL DESIGNATOR The Joint Potential Designator (JPD) is Joint Interest.