ASDS To Deploy With First Expeditionary Strike Group

Since 04-20-03

By Hunter Keeter, Defense Daily

     The Navy's Advanced Seal Delivery System (ASDS) by Northrop Grumman [NOC] will deploy in the USS Peleliu (LHA-5) Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), according to submarine warfare requirements director Rear Adm. Paul Sullivan.

     "ASDS will enter OPEVAL (operational evaluation) in a few months and [if successful,] would deploy on [the nuclear fast attack submarine] USS Greeneville (SSN-772), with the Navy's first Expeditionary Strike Group," Sullivan last month said during a Defense News conference in Alexandria, Va.

     The ASDS, together with other programs developed for the Navy and for the Special Operations Command, comprise a package of capabilities the submarine force has offered to contribute to joint force operations. The first ESGs, based on Peleliu from the West Coast and USS Saipan (LHA-2) from the East Coast, were planned to have been deployed beginning in the August or September time frame. However the Navy noted that Saipan, now a part of Task Group East in Operation Iraqi Freedom, may not be available for deployment as the East Coast ESG, according to the Navy.

     When future ESGs deploy, these may be centered around a new kind of capitol ship, the SSGN-conversions now being built from four USS Ohio-class (SSBN-726) fleet ballistic missile submarines.

     "The Navy is looking at SSGN to be the centerpiece of its Expeditionary Strike Groups," Sullivan said. "This in context with other capabilities is what the submarine force brings to the joint fight...undersea warfare is our asymmetric strength."

     The SSGN conversion design was developed by General Dynamics' [GD] Electric Boat Corp.

     While weapons like the emergent Raytheon [RTN] Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) Block IV have gained attention, with the SSGN expected to carry as many as 154 of the new missiles, another key advantage is the SSGN and ASDS platforms' inherent ability to contribute to Special Operations Force (SOF) missions.

     ASDS offers the ability to deliver a group of SOF troops to an operating area without exposing the force to cold water until necessary. SSGN offers the space aboard to host 60 or more SOF troops and support their missions with a fully-equipped planning and command and control center.