Background
The origins of SC-21 lie in the realization by Admiral Joseph Metcalf III that new technologies such as vertical launch missiles permitted a complete rethink of warship design. He established a steering group, Group Mike, to study the possibilities. Group Mike sponsored two studies in 1987, the Ship Operational Characteristics Study (SOCS) and the Surface Combatant Force Requirement Study (SCFRS). SOCS sought to identify the operational characteristics required of an escort ship, and SCFRS estimated how many such ships were required by the fleet. Since it was expected at that time that the Navy would be fighting prolonged campaigns in the Norwegian Sea, SOCS put an emphasis on ships' continuing ability to fight after an initial Soviet attack. This in turn called for larger, more survivable escort ships than had historically been the norm, around 12,000 tons, and for networking sensors and weapons together so that they could be used by the task force as a whole even if an individual ship had their radar disabled. Survivability also called for the bridge and Combat Information Center to be combined and "buried" in the heart of the ship, and for the ship to use electric drive to distribute the engineering around the ship, which would also give more room for weapons and the scope for railguns and laser weapons in future. SCFRS suggested that the Navy should not replace the Perry class frigate for convoy escort duties, but concentrate on building front-line combatants that could be assigned to less demanding convoy duties in their later years.
Both studies reported in 1989, and almost immediately were rendered obsolete by the ending of the Cold War. The Navy suddenly faced the disappearance of its greatest threat, and the prospect of budget cuts as part of the peace dividend. Interest waned in big new designs like the SOCS ship; the Destroyer Variant (DDV) program of December 1991 was intended as a stopgap, the final development of the Burke class destroyer.
In 1992 the CNO ordered a 21st century Destroyer (DD-21) Technology Study. This led to a new program called Surface Combatant for the 21st century (SC-21), intended as a family of ships with a range of capabilities that would not necessarily fit old designations of "destroyers" and "cruisers". Meanwhile strategy papers such as "FORWARD...FROM THE SEA" were redefining the Navy's priorities towards littoral warfare and the support of amphibious assaults inland. It seemed, then, that land attack would be the most important mission for the new ships.
Read more about this topic: SC-21 (United States)
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