Last Two Battleships!

[captcav]

Just reading an article about the last two battleships (iowa class) still in reserve status with the USN. I thought all battleships were decommisioned? if not, have the last two who still remaine active been upgraded with up-to-date weapon systems? sm-2's? ssm's? in addition to their 16" guns?

Wouldn't it be nice to go back to building battleships again? but include all the new mod cons! imagne a new age 16" or 20" 4 set gun platform!! then you could neatly tuck away some VLS tube at the front n back from extended capabilities! would give the marines great cover range! Please read the following below.




Full Cost and
Schedule for
Reactivating and
Modernizing
Battleships Have Not
Been Analyzed



To reactivate two Iowa class battleships to their decommissioned
capability, the Navy estimates costs in excess of $500 million. This does
not include an additional $110 million needed to replenish gunpowder for
the 16-inch guns because a recent survey found that it is unsafe. In terms
of schedule, the Navy’s program management office estimates that
reactivation would take 20 to 40 months, given the loss of corporate
memory and the shipyard industrial base.
Reactivating the battleships would require a wide range of battleship
modernization improvements, according to the Navy’s program
management office. At a minimum, these modernization improvements
include command and control, communications, computers, and
intelligence equipment; environmental protection (including ozonedepleting
substances); a plastic-waste processor; pulper/shredder and
wastewater alterations; firefighting/fire safety and women-at-sea
alterations; a modernized sensor suite (air and surface search radar); and
new combat and self-defense systems. Although detailed studies would be
needed to identify the full extent of modernization needs and costs, the
Navy has no plans to conduct these studies.
The Navy’s program management office also identified other issues that
would strongly discourage the Navy from reactivating and modernizing the
battleships. For example, personnel needed to operate the battleships
would be extensive, and the skills needed may not be available or easily
reconstituted. Other issues include the age and unreliability of the
battleships’ propulsion systems and the fact that the Navy no longer
maintains the capability to manufacture their 16-inch gun system
components and ordnance.


Validated
Requirements for
NSFS Overall Have
Not Been Established


The role of naval surface fire support has been evolving in tandem with the
Navy’s amphibious assault doctrine, and for well over a decade, since the
decommissioning of the last of the Iowa class battleships, both the Navy
and Marine Corps have strived to address the specifics of how to fulfill
NSFS requirements. Until recently, these services have had difficulty with
reconciling their respective positions. Operational requirements
documents for several systems, such as the new destroyer, that will
contribute to the NSFS mission have been developed. On several
occasions, the Marine Corps has specified to the Navy what they believe
the replacement NSFS capability should be and the timing of the
capability. However, no single document has ever addressed the overall
capabilities and the balance between different systems that will be
required to provide effective, continuous, and sustainable supporting fire
for increasingly capable expeditionary forces operating ashore.
Although no formal NSFS requirement currently exists, in August 2004, the
Navy and Marine Corps agreed on an approach to correct the problem by
formally agreeing to develop an Initial Capabilities Document (ICD) that
would address the overall capabilities needed for naval fire support. The
goal of this ICD is to document and address the overall capabilities
required of naval fire support. This will assist in determining the most
effective and efficient balance of capabilities and in determining the
cumulative offensive power that naval forces must be capable of
generating. An integrated product team chaired by the Marine Corps’
Deputy Commandant for Combat Development office, in coordination
with the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, will conduct the required
analyses, develop the ICD, and endeavor to gain the Department of
Defense’s approval for the ICD.