In order to meet the challenges facing us over the next few years, more effective management control of the Navy’s submarine program management resources is considered necessary. The Naval Material Command has thus recently (Jan. 17, 1984) chartered a new Program Directorate, PDS-350, within the Naval Sea Systems Command, to prosecute all attack submarine programs of the Naval Sea Systems ~ommand and the Naval Electronics Command. Consequently, PDS-350 becomes the focal point for the design and acquisition of attack submarines and their combat systems – ensuring efficient management control of these activities.
The Director Attack Submarine Acquisition Programs PDS-350, Commodore Guy Curtis, has, as a result, overall management control of: attack submarine R&D programs and funds in NAVMAT except for those associated with nuclear reactor plants; PMS-409, the Submarine Combat Systems Project; PMS-393, the New Design Attack Submarine Acquisition Project. In addition, over the next few months PDS-350 will take over technical direction and funding of the Sea Nymph, masts, antennae and submarine communications programs currently controlled by various organizations within the Naval Material Command.
The new design Attack Submarine is projected to be introduced into the fleet in the mid-1990s and will bring with it many improvements over the current 688 Class submarine.
Concurrent with the establishment of PDS-350, a Technical Advisory Submarine Research and Development Panel has been established to develop a Coordinated Submarine Technology Base Plan for all attack submarines. Membership of the advisory panel includes representatives from the Office of the CNO, Naval Undersea Systems Command (NUSC), Office of Naval Technology, Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Naval Ocean Systems Command (NOSC), Naval Electronics Systems Command (NAVELEX) and NAVSEA cognizant R&D offices.
In order to meet future threats while maintaining ship delivery schedules, concentrated action on the part of Navy management is considered essential. Through the centralization of control over the acquisition and design of our attack submarine fleet, it is expected that state of the art improvements in submarines and their combat systems will be realized. These systems will be delivered to the fleet on time and with high quality in order to maintain our superiority in the undersea theatre.
COMMODORE GUY CURTIS III, USN
(Correction: Comdr. Tritten’s article on Strategic ASW in the January Review suffered from a glaring typo error. The sentence: “The U.S. is obviously not adding defense to its well thought out strategic offense” should have read, “The U.S. is obviously~ adding defense, etc.”)
