Surface Navy’s focus on future

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Surface Navy Association hosted shipbuilding and ship maintenance panels here on the final day of its 29th annual symposium Jan. 12. Vice Adm. Thomas J. Moore, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, moderated both panels that focused on current and future force structure with developments in technology, ship design, cost effectiveness and the implementation of the Navy's newest classes of ships. “If we want to provide capability against our competition, whether an LCS (Littoral Combat Ship), DDG 1000, Columbia-class, Coast Guard icebreakers - you have to leap forward,” he said. Moore’s panel discussed the Navy's intentions moving forward, the importance of testing new and developing systems prior to implementation, affordability and the ability for the Navy to reach its goal of 355 ships citing lessons learned from the LCS, development of a newly designed frigate, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000). (Source: Navy News Service 01/12/17)