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 ...
No they said the moon was made out of cheese and the cow jumped over it and I had my doubts. Did you/?????
So many silly replies on this thread. It’s like a playground.
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.
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.
BS
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.
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 Speed is going to be a vital factor when (if) even petroleum is obsolete.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.
And when locomotives did 30mph, passengers would smother!
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.
Just more submarine meat.
Looks like a cheesy prop from a James Bond movie.
How long until the Chinese steals this technology?
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.”)
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.
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?
Maneuverability and firepower, the esence of maneuver warfare.
Not recommending kamikaze, I think those days are gone for good, dont 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.
Yeah, I’m thinking conventional forces, not terrorists. Kamikases did a job on us 10 yrs ago. :(
Sure, LOL, that is why we put civilians in charges of the military in the USA to prevent such crap.
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