Monday, May 09, 2011

So It's Basically A Big Haze Gray...Yacht

Because it certainly appears that USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) is incapable of fulfilling its mission as a US Navy ship.

“Bottom line: severe problems with engines, missiles, guns, links, comms and aviation,” Rear Adm. Rob Wray, president of INSURV, wrote in the April 7 email addressed to the heads of Fleet Forces Command, Pacific Fleet and Naval Surface Forces. “The ship’s material condition did not support underway operations, area air defense operations, or principal warfare commander command and control requirements.”

In the email, Wray detailed Mobile Bay’s discrepancies. Upon discovering metal debris in the port main reduction gear, the shaft had to be locked for most of the underway part of the inspection. All seven gas turbine engines and generators had multiple problems that precluded their operation. The SPY-1 radar was unable to operate at minimum power and the Aegis weapon system couldn’t provide a “recommend fire” alert in simulation mode, preventing Standard Missile-2 launches. The forward deck gun was inoperable due to a faulty firing pin. Connectivity issues hampered data links, email, radio circuits, naval messages, instant messaging — even Tomahawk mission planning.



Boy, is the captain of the Mobile Bay lucky that he's not in Ernie King's Navy.

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