Posted on 01/12/2004 8:34:59 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
The future of the Navy is on its way to Naval Station Ingleside, according to U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
The HSV-X2 Swift, a record-setting high-speed vessel leased by the Navy from Australian shipbuilder Bollinger/Incat USA, will make Ingleside its home port while it acts as an interim replacement for the command and control ship for the Navy's Mine Warfare fleet.
However, the Swift will see little time at Ingleside, officials say, due to its experimental role in Navy operations that may offer a window to how the Navy will utilize ships in the future.
Capt. Terry Miller, assistant chief of staff for operations at Mine Warfare Command at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, said there are several ways the Swift fits square into the Chief of Naval Operations' vision for the Navy's future, called "Seapower 21."
The first is its speed, he said.
The vessel can travel at up to 47 knots - warp speed in the ocean - more than three times the speed of mine warfare's now decommissioned former command ship, the USS Inchon. Stars and Stripes reported that sailors and Marines affectionately call it the "vomit comet" because it often causes queasiness for first-time riders.
Miller said the Swift traveled from Roda, Spain, to Little Creek, Va., in four days, a trip that would have taken the Inchon at least 18.
One reason the ship travels so quickly is its design - it is a wave-piercing catamaran, or a ship with two hulls, or floats, on either of its sides.
Because the vessel is so much faster, Miller said, it offers the military numerous options that were unavailable with slower ships.
Capt. Randy Young, chief of staff at Mine Warfare Command, said that having a speedy command ship would be vital to the mine warfare fleet. When a group of coastal minehunters or mine countermeasures ships are on a mission, the Swift, acting as a command ship, could quickly offer repair and support to the deployed fleet.
"It will act as a command ship that moves in and out," he said. "In the past, that kind of thing has taken months. The Swift can get there in days."
Young said that speed is obviously a vital factor for a naval force that values a surging capability.
The second way the Swift will fit into the future of the Navy, Miller said, is that it will be operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Most ships, he said, are deployed for a given amount of time and are relegated to a port for six months. However, the Swift will have two crews - one from Ingleside and one from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va.
With mine countermeasures ships that have a single crew, he said, once the ship is in port, it is not being used in any military operations and overhead costs continue to run high.
But with two crews, the ship can be in constant operation without having months of sunken overhead costs.
"In my opinion, that's where the whole Navy's going," Miller said.
The last aspect of Seapower 21 that the ship embodies is the ability to serve in a multi-mission capacity. Because of its speed and constant operational status, Miller said, the Swift can support mine warfare one month and Army and Marine Corps operations in Central America the next month.
Currently, the Swift is doing just that. Its mission is divided between mine warfare and Navy experimentation, Miller said.
The first-year value for the ship's lease, which can extend to four years, was $21.7 million.
Young said leasing was optimal in this case because the Navy is using the ship, along with other high-speed vessels in the military, on an experimental basis.
Stars and Stripes contributed to this report. Contact Brad Olson at 886-3764 or olsonb@caller.com
Ship facts Ship Type: Aluminum-hulled, wave-piercing catamaran Capabilities: Unmanned vehicle launch and recovery, telescoping boom crane Length: 321.5 feet Payload Capacity: About 1,355,843 pounds Cargo Deck: About 28,739 square feet PROPULSION: CATERPILLAR 3618 Marine Diesel Engines Maximum Speed: 53 mph Range: 4,039 miles Crew: About 42 Maximum Crew: 107 with additional temporary berthing for 87 Commanding Officers: Clark Price (Texas crew); Mark Sakaguchi (Virginia crew) Contractor: Bollinger/ Incat USA, LLC, Lockport, La. Contract Value: $21.7 million (First year value) Current lease can go to four years, 11 months
Potential missions
Mine warfare, Intra-theater lift, Naval special warfare, Riverine operations, Maritime intercept operations, Homeland security, Humanitarian assistance, Littoral access, Troop insertion and extraction; Non-combatant evacuation operations
I fixe'd it, I pampered it, I got Bukko tickets with it.
The day a man sells his boat is a sleepy day.
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If you'll notice the US Army photo is of the X1. The story was about the X2.
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