This is a pretty cool ship; aluminum construction, twin diesel and twin turbine engines, pushing four hydro-jets…the official line is that she will do better than 50 knots, with a range of 4000 nautical miles.
Here’s a nice photo one of our guys took yesterday as the Sea Fighter left Esquimalt harbour, past good old Fisgard Lighthouse.
The UN has a navy?
Ah, bugger. A combination of thinking “USN” and “US Navy,” and typing something completely different.
Oh, well…the headline should jolt any of the UN-conspiracy theorists that may be lurking out there…
Here are more pictures from the manufacturer’s website. This thing is awesome!!
M-80 Stiletto
Upon further review, it appears these are two different vessels. Either way, both of them are cool.
Not to take away from the ship but man, that lighthouse and coastline is freakin’ beautiful.
50 knots, that’s 58 mph?
Oooooo…it looks like something Ernst Stavro Blofeld would sail around in while plotting the overthrow of the world!
Still, it’s only a testbed vehicle. I hope that post-testing, it can be converted to a useful purpose.
Yep…that’s the view out my office window.
You should see the Olympic mountains on a clear spring day…
Water-skiing?
My husband (an engineering consultatant) was the port engineer, and the companies technical rep in charge of getting that ship built and delivered and administering warranty. The reason I live in San Diego is because of this ship. The reason I moved to Whidbey Island (where it was built) was because of that ship. I’ve been on that ship more times than I care to count and have listened to endless engineering conversations about design, propulsion, engines, actually everything about that ship I’ve listened to. Its top speed during sea trials was 54 knotts. And I still maintain it’s ugly as hell. Right now it’s heading to Canada.
At the Navy christening, part of Duncan Hunters speach was how many cruise missiles the xcraft could hold. I wanted to vomit listening to him. But the coast guard is also testing it along side with the navy, so who knows.
Isn’t that part of the test-bed for concepts for the DD(X) ships?
I think it’s more the test-bed for the Littoral Combat Ship concept. DD-X is a deeper water design, while this is supposed to be used up close and personal to the shoreline.
Err… I thought DD(X) was the Littoral Zone Combat ship. The thinking being that deep water forces, like the Arleigh Burkes, are superfluous these days. (I see the arguements, but am not convinced.) Of course it’s been a while since I tried to keep up with the Navy’s long term planning.
I was watching a NG special about Sweden’s new generation of warships-the VISBY-class gunboat is powered by two Rolls-Royce gas turbines, and is capable of about45 knots. The striking thing about these ships is the small size of the crew-the bridge is manned by only three men-all officers! The engine room has only one man on watch. I think this is the trend-small ships with enormous firepower and high speed, with small crews.
OtakuLoki,
Did a bit of googling, here’s what I found about DD(X):
More info and a pic at the DD(X) Program Executive Office at NAVSEA Crane.
Regarding the LCS:
More info and pics at the LCS Program Executive Office at NAVSEA Crane.
And no survivability for combat damage, or even a simple fire. In fact some of the projected construction details for these ships gives me the screaming willies: staterooms for all crewmembers? That means false bulkheads - and that’s a breeding ground for fire. Don’t get me wrong: living in open-bay barracks sucks. But there are sound damage control reasons for preferring that kind of construction over staterooms.
I understand all the arguments for DD(X) and similar vessels, don’t get me wrong. And my reservations may be nothing more than the age-old “But that t’warn’t how we done it,” of older generations. But from what I’ve heard there’s still a rather fierce debate going on in Proceedings and other naval warfare circles about these vessels.
So how does this compare to the Incat ferries? I thought those could do 50 knots too.
OK…maybe a stupid question, but how fast can it come to a dead stop?
I mean, at that speed, and my luck my little windsurfing board goes a little astray and I look up and see this shiny thing coming at me at a good clip and…
