A still from the video from Navantia which is ramping up promotions in a bid to win the Future Frigates contract.
Posted on 09/19/2017 8:35:50 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
A Spanish company vying for a $30 billion Navy ship building contract is using a Youtube video to imply its landing craft can carry Australia’s heavy tanks despite the boat sinking too low in water when the armoured vehicle was put on board.
Navantia, one of three contenders for Australia’s $30 billion Future Frigates contract, has a contract worth about $240 million to supply Australia with 12 landing craft supposedly capable of carrying the army’s 62 tonne M1A1 Abrams tanks.
Defence has since confirmed trials of the boats had to be suspended after they sank to low in the water when the 62 tonne Abrams was put on board.
Despite the suspended trials Navantia, which is ramping up promotions in a bid to win the Future Frigates contract, has maintained a promotional video on YouTube implying their landing craft by using imagery of lighter Spanish tanks on the vessels.
The 3.52 second Navantia video is titled in Spanish “LLC for the Royal Australian Armada 12 units: 2012-2015” and features a few short clips of a tank reversing onto the landing craft. The vessel is then featured cruising along in a dead calm harbour carrying the tank,
At the conclusion of the video, text in Spanish appears on the screen stating: “Flexible load capacity: Abrams vehicle, various military vehicles an infantry company or a container truck of 6 meters.”
Close inspection of the video however reveals the tank used in the video is not an Abrams but what appears to be a lighter older Spanish tank.
The tank was likely an M60 Patton which was significantly lighter than the Australian’s Abrams tanks, said tank expert, former soldier and Leopard crewman Jason Belgrave from the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum last week.
Australia’s M1A1 Abrams are some of the heaviest modern tanks
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
A still from the video from Navantia which is ramping up promotions in a bid to win the Future Frigates contract.
what would archimedes do...
Make use of helium-filled pontoons?
Old joke: Why does the new Italian navy have glass bottom boats? So they can see the old Italian navy.
likewise, Spanish shipbuilding peaked somewhere around the galleon.
Actually, their new frigate design seems to be an exception. Most of the rest of what they make is kind of suspicious, though.
By about 10 tons. It isn't exactly a triumph of naval architecture to build to a 62 ton spec and deliver 52. The Abrams does a lot of remarkable things but I don't think it's very good at floating.
:-)
Navy’s LCAC replacement - the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC)
will haul 74 tons at 35 knots. Makes an ungodly roar though.
That photo reminds me of a story. Way back in the day (mid 1986) my fire team was over-watching a river crossing exercise at a small lake on Fort Riley, Kansas.
The engineers were using a pontoon bridge to move M60 tanks across the lake. I was manning an machine gun, providing security, when another soldier starts slapping my leg. I look back and the tank crew and the pontoon bridge crew were diving into the water and swimming like mad men. Shortly after that, the bridge and tank flipped over and the tank sank to the bottom of the lake.
Everyone was ok, but I will never forget that sight.
It was actually depressing to see the words “way back in the day” and 1986 in the same sentence. I was in my 9th year of US Army service and was transferring from Ft Monmouth to Wiesbaden, GM.
Way back in the Day!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
