[quote]The Navy's need for speed is being answered by a pair of warships that have reached freeway speeds during testing at sea.
Independence, a 418-foot warship built in Alabama, boasts a top speed in excess of 45 knots, or about 52 mph, and sustained 44 knots for four hours during builder trials that wrapped up this month off the Gulf Coast. The 378-foot Freedom, a ship built in Wisconsin by a competing defense contractor, has put up similar numbers.
Both versions of the Littoral Combat Ship use powerful diesel engines, as well as gas turbines for extra speed. They use steerable waterjets instead of propellers and rudders and have shallower drafts than conventional warships, letting them zoom close to shore.
The ships, better able to chase down pirates, have been fast-tracked because the Navy wants vessels that can operate in coastal, or littoral, waters. Freedom is due to be deployed next year, two years ahead of schedule.
[b]Up to 55 could be built[/b]
Independence is an aluminum, tri-hulled warship built by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. The lead contractor is Maine's Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics.
Lockheed Martin Corp. is leading the team that built Freedom in Marinette, Wis. It looks more like a conventional warship, with a single hull made of steel.
The stakes are high for both teams. The Navy plans to select Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics, but not both, as the builder. The Navy has ordered one more ship from each of the teams before it chooses the final design. Eventually, the Navy wants to build up to 55 of them.
Speed has long been relished by Navy skippers. Capt. John Paul Jones, sometimes described as father of the U.S. Navy, summed it up this way in 1778: "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way."
Eric Wertheim, author and editor of the U.S. Naval Institute's "Guide to Combat Fleets of the World," said speed is a good thing, but it comes at a cost.
"This is really something revolutionary," Wertheim said. "The question is how important and how expensive is this burst of speed?"
[b]Each could cost $460 million[/b]
Early cost estimates for Littoral Combat Ships were about $220 million apiece, but costs spiraled because of the Navy's requirements and its desire to expedite construction. The cost of the ships is capped at $460 million apiece, starting in the new fiscal year.
Both ships are built to accommodate helicopters and mission "modules" for either anti-submarine missions, mine removal or traditional surface warfare. The modules are designed to be swapped out within 24 hours, allowing the ships to adapt quickly to new missions.
While they're fast, they aren't necessarily the fastest military ships afloat. The Navy used to have missile-equipped hydrofoils and the Marines' air-cushioned landing craft is capable of similar speeds, Wertheim said. And smaller ships are capable of higher speeds.
Nonetheless, the speed is impressive, especially considering that other large naval vessels have been cruising along at a relatively pokey 30 to 35 knots for decades.
Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, noted that Independence sustained 44 knots despite a 30-knot headwind and 6- to 8-foot seas in Alabama's Mobile Bay. "For a ship of this size, it's simply unheard of to sustain that rate of speed for four hours," he said.[/quote]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/080428-N-3625R-002.jpg[/img]
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/USS_Independence_LCS-2.jpg[/img]
(Images from Wiki)
Source: [url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33431534/ns/us_news-military[/url]
Don't know if it's late news or not but looks pretty cool
[QUOTE=bobste;17964880]my car goes that fast[/QUOTE]
does it go that fast on the water?
[QUOTE=Gummylamb;17964910]does it go that fast on the water?[/QUOTE]
Yes, but then it stops working after a second or two.
looks like a tank on water
[QUOTE=Gummylamb;17964910]does it go that fast on the water?[/QUOTE]
His car isn't that big either
Looks pretty sleek.
Side view anyway.
[QUOTE=bobste;17964880]my car goes that fast[/QUOTE]
my truck goes faster than that :P
[QUOTE=bigdan;17964809]To cover up the size of you're penis's[/QUOTE]
Correct. We have to make things big in order to remain modest about the massive girth of our penors.
shit that's pretty fucking fast
[QUOTE=Gummylamb;17964910]does it go that fast on the water?[/QUOTE]
ya when it rains it still goes the same speed its like zoom
[QUOTE=BusterBluth;17964962]Correct. We have to make things big in order to remain modest about the massive girth of our penors.[/QUOTE]
and to hide our spelling misteaks.
Looks beast. Pirates would think twice when one of those glides over their little dinghy.
Neat, we're actually building something cool in Maine. I saw a destroyer chilling in Bath Ironworks awhile back, not one of these, and live not too far from a General Dynamics building.
[QUOTE=Watevaman;17964996]Looks beast. Pirates would think twice when one of those glides over their little dinghy.[/QUOTE]
A dinghy could probably outrun it.
Those are nothing, These will be the bad boys ( If they ever get built )
[media]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Uss_Zumwalt.jpg[/media]
The badassery levels of the looks of that thing are just off the charts!
$460 million a piece??? do we not already have money problems? what do we even need these for right now? can they float in sand?
[editline]08:04PM[/editline]
still p. cool tho
[editline]08:04PM[/editline]
oh pirates. still, are pirates really that much of a problem? especially for the us of a.
But... But we've already got 2 of these on order and 1 of them in construction due for completion next year!
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_R._Ford_class_aircraft_carrier[/url]
snip
[QUOTE=Waals Vander;17965555]$460 million a piece??? do we not already have money problems? what do we even need these for right now?.[/QUOTE]
Do not question the spending of America.
[QUOTE=Waals Vander;17965555]$460 million a piece??? do we not already have money problems? what do we even need these for right now? can they float in sand?
[editline]08:04PM[/editline]
still p. cool tho
[editline]08:04PM[/editline]
oh pirates. still, are pirates really that much of a problem? especially for the us of a.[/QUOTE]
who gives a shit we're america
army: #1
citizens: #2
[QUOTE=raccoon12;17966244]who gives a shit we're america
army: #1
citizens: #2[/QUOTE]
still the best
Reminds me of thunderbirds with that really fast warship.
[QUOTE=bobste;17966258]still the best[/QUOTE]
ye you dont fuck with our shit
that's like going up to a lion and stealing it's food
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