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"Stealth" Boat Could Revolutionize Naval Warfare
NBC Chicago ^ | Aug 30, 2011 | Greg Wilson

Posted on 08/31/2011 6:06:34 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki

"Stealth" Boat Could Revolutionize Naval Warfare

Designer is working with defense contractor on 150-foot model

By Greg Wilson

A stealth boat that moves through water at high speeds and with near invisibility could revolutionize the Navy's ability to carry out special operations on water.

The craft, called The Ghost, moves by generating a layer of gas around submerged surfaces, greatly reducing friction. It's unique design makes it ideal for special operations, according to DiscoveryNews. The ship can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour and has a shape designed to reduce its visibility to radar, similar to the Navy's "Sea Shadow" project of the 1980s.

Gregory Sancoff, president and chief executive officer of Juliet Marine, said the U.S. government is interested and his company is working with a defense contractor to build a 150-foot model. The friction reducing gas technology, called supercavitation, works by generating a low-pressure zone around the ship's surface.

The Ghost keeps a low radar profile the same way stealth planes do, by making the radar waves bounce off of its surface.

Sancoff said The Ghost is ideal for missions close to coasts, such as getting special operations teams into and out of areas quickly. It could also be deployed against pirates and even used to attack on aircraft carriers and destroyers.

Eric Wertheim, analyst at the U.S. Naval Inst

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcchicago.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ghost; stealth; supercavitation; usn
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To: Lady Lucky

No they said the moon was made out of cheese and the cow jumped over it and I had my doubts. Did you/?????


41 posted on 08/31/2011 8:04:05 AM PDT by org.whodat (What does the Republican party stand for////??? absolutely nothing.)
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To: org.whodat

So many silly replies on this thread. It’s like a playground.


42 posted on 08/31/2011 8:09:40 AM PDT by Lady Lucky (Heavy the head that wears the tiara.)
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To: Lady Lucky
So it is a kamikaze craft,” coming at you so fast you cannot get out of the way”. And someone told me the other-day that we could shoot a missile down with a missile wonder if that is true are another cheese story.
43 posted on 08/31/2011 8:12:59 AM PDT by org.whodat (What does the Republican party stand for////??? absolutely nothing.)
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To: org.whodat

Thanks for that dose of common sense.

Our fiscal crisis is problem of national security in my opinion. Scale back the R&D for a few years until we get our feet back under us.


44 posted on 08/31/2011 8:16:11 AM PDT by Claud
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Looks pretty interesting to me. I often wonder if our military will respond to Enemies “....... and domestic.”
We will need them to survive as a Republic.


45 posted on 08/31/2011 8:24:06 AM PDT by mcshot (Hey we're turning upside down compliments of career politicians.)
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To: org.whodat
" And no there is no need for it"

I'm glad you can make such a declarative statement. For me, I don't know if we need it. I do know this, the defense budget should not be the one to take the cuts. First off, we are spending at one of the lowest levels as a percent of GDP since the end of WWII. Secondly, we need entitlement reforms to fix our budget deficit problem. If you cut back too much on defense, then you get Jimmy Carter's military and we invite the worlds lunatics to come after us. You want to prevent another 9/11? Keep the military strong.
46 posted on 08/31/2011 8:29:12 AM PDT by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: Old Teufel Hunden

BS


47 posted on 08/31/2011 8:32:35 AM PDT by org.whodat (What does the Republican party stand for////??? absolutely nothing.)
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To: org.whodat

The stuff about the spending levels of the defense budget as a percent of GDP is a fact. However, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.


48 posted on 08/31/2011 8:36:21 AM PDT by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: org.whodat

I had torpedos and small “drive-by” craft in mind. Not recommending kamikaze, I think those days are gone for good, don’t you?
The thing is, speed will always be vital. You can have all the remotes, robotics, all the electronic wonders, AI, nanotech, you name it, but they’re all just means to some end. Speed is going to be a vital factor when (if) even petroleum is obsolete.
Finding a way around the “water barrier” is extremely useful. Ever tried shooting something in the water?
Any technology that helps us get through water like it was air, I’m all for it.


49 posted on 08/31/2011 8:40:57 AM PDT by Lady Lucky (Heavy the head that wears the tiara.)
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To: org.whodat
No they said the moon was made out of cheese

And when locomotives did 30mph, passengers would smother!

50 posted on 08/31/2011 8:44:02 AM PDT by Lady Lucky (Heavy the head that wears the tiara.)
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To: org.whodat
"And no there is no need for it,..."

Such an authoritative declaration. Do you have any substantion for such a claim or are you merely stating your opinion?

I don't pretend to know what our servicemembers "NEED" in all circumstances.

What I do know is that I trust many of them to know what they "need" and act accordingly to procure it if it will serve the interests of our nation and help keep our servicemembers safer in accomplishing their missions.

51 posted on 08/31/2011 8:47:15 AM PDT by SZonian (July 27, 2010. Life begins anew.)
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To: taxcontrol

Just more submarine meat.


52 posted on 08/31/2011 8:50:48 AM PDT by bmwcyle (Obama is a Communist, a Muslim, and an illegal alien)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Looks like a cheesy prop from a James Bond movie.


53 posted on 08/31/2011 8:51:22 AM PDT by 4yearlurker (I've been dipping into my jar full of Hope & Change just to buy gas!!)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

How long until the Chinese steals this technology?


54 posted on 08/31/2011 8:58:17 AM PDT by NorthStarStateConservative (Springtime in America will arrive on January 21, 2013.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Fun to read:

http://www.well.com/user/argv/funny/hindsight

Sample: “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” (General Ferdinand Foch, supposedly “the most original mind in the French army.”)


55 posted on 08/31/2011 9:03:37 AM PDT by Lady Lucky (Heavy the head that wears the tiara.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Interesting. Sponsons like a surface piercing SWATH ship. For sure, not to be driven near beaches or reefs or up rivers, so the troops need another way to the land. SWATH ships do have very good sea-keeping qualities. I’d love to know how this ship gets to its area of operations. A 150 foot version will not fit in or on any of our LPDs/LSDs etc. So it has to travel on a ship hauler, or its own bottom, if you can say it has a bottom. I predict in ten years, we’ll have built a half dozen and it will be declared a platypus that the Navy no longer wants, similar to the way we built and then abandoned our Pegasus class hydrofoils. A major knock against the foils was that they could not keep up with a task force on the open ocean, in terms of sea-keeping and fuel endurance. I’d love to know if this new ship has an at-sea refueling capability.


56 posted on 08/31/2011 10:03:10 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Thanks for the dry pic. THe vessel makes more sense to me now. It appears to be a hydrofoil also, or is that not part of the design?


57 posted on 08/31/2011 11:38:14 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: Lady Lucky
I had torpedos and small “drive-by” craft in mind.

Maneuverability and firepower, the esence of maneuver warfare.

Not recommending kamikaze, I think those days are gone for good, don’t you?

I don't think our guys want that (maybe Kamikaze AI units ('artificial intelligence') which a good fire and forget weapon is). However, it is self-evident that our enemies haven't given up on the idea, they use it to deliver everything from large, commercial jet sized payloads by air to a few kg of explosives and scrap metal on foot.

58 posted on 08/31/2011 11:47:48 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Yeah, I’m thinking conventional forces, not terrorists. Kamikases did a job on us 10 yrs ago. :(


59 posted on 08/31/2011 11:59:02 AM PDT by Lady Lucky (Heavy the head that wears the tiara.)
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To: SZonian

Sure, LOL, that is why we put civilians in charges of the military in the USA to prevent such crap.


60 posted on 08/31/2011 7:26:11 PM PDT by org.whodat (What does the Republican party stand for////??? absolutely nothing.)
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