Another interesting ship coming from Austal, the makers of the trimaran Littoral Combat Ship, Independence (sometimes referred to as the Klingon Battlecruiser). This is the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The Army and Navy are planning to buy at least ten. I would not be surprised to see them used routinely with a LEDET on board for drug enforcement.
$185M for a first in class 338 foot catamaran that does 35-45 knots, has a helo deck, and a mission bay with a capacity for six shipping containers sounds like a relative bargain too.
More comment and a video of an earlier, similar vessel, HSV-X1 Joint Venture here.
No accident Joint Venture’s hull form looks a lot like the Chinese Type 022 Houbei class missile boat. They share a common ancestry.
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Chuck that is a pretty old rendering, there are some nifty things online. Anyway, the JHSV is certainly capable of supporting mulitple LEDETs with their boats and CG helos too. Maybe one could think of it as a Mothership for Coast Guard assets? Of course it would need improvement in weapons and sensors and logistic capacity but donable. and the USCG could jump on an apparently successfull ship acquisition too.
(Much better than the old T-AGOS and FDB lashup)
Lee, thanks for the comment, I’ve added the Austal site which has some very nice graphics: http://www.austal.com/index.cfm?objectID=6B42CC62-65BF-EBC1-2E3E308BACC92365
Chuck and the rest,
Found this Fox News article this morning: USCG Cutter Waesche (below)
I have concerns about a statement in the article “1800 psi water cannons designed to push a burning chopper hulk off the deck in case of catastrophic ‘magnesium’ fire.”
Ever see what happens between magnesium and water?
Watch this from the Bedford Fire Dept. http://youtu.be/KY9ri-UOoLo
The Coast Guard’s New Cutter
February 16, 2011 – 11:05 AM | by: Adam Housley
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/16/the-coast-guards-new-cutter/
First JHSV has been christened. http://www.informationdissemination.net/2011/09/here-comes-spearhead.html
“Another interesting ship coming from Austal, the makers of the trimaran Littoral Combat Ship, Independence (sometimes referred to as the Klingon Battlecruiser). This is the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The Army and Navy are planning to buy at least ten. I would not be surprised to see them used routinely with a LEDET on board for drug enforcement.”
That would indeed be a welcome development for the drug interdiction mission. However, given where that mission fits on the DOD priority list, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting to see it in the Caribbean or the Eastern Pacific other than on a shakedown/opeval cruise.
Previously the LEDETs usually rode FFGs. They are all going away soon. Of all the Navy ships, the JHSVs will be the cheapest to operate and the least important for other missions, so there is a logic in assigning them to drug interdiction, which the Navy does seem to want to get points for doing.
Chuck, while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak when it comes to drug interdiction and the US Navy. I’m not saying the JHSV’s aren’t perfectly suited for the drug mission – they are. The reality of demands on the fleet though, mean that this mission is very low on the Navy priority list. DOD knows that they need to allocate vessels to this mission, but higher priorities will get the ships.
More of these ships are coming on line. the first has been christened, two more under construction, a total of seven contracted: http://www.austal.com/en/media/media-releases/11-10-10/Austal-Commences-Fabrication-of-JHSV3.aspx
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First of the class just completed acceptance trials:
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=588
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It is coming true: http://news.usni.org/2013/03/20/low-cost-ship-options-for-u-s-navys-drug-war
They do seem to have relatively short legs. They may end up staying in area for long periods and rotating LEDETs flying down to meet them.
First ship of the class has completed trials including use of MH-60S helo and 11 meter RHIB. Specific mention of using her for 4th Fleet operations. http://news.usni.org/2013/10/10/navys-first-joint-high-speed-vessel-completes-testing
First Joint High Speed Vessel deployment: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=79997
They are using Aerostats, but watch out for lightening strikes: https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/jhsv-fast-catamaran-transport-program-moves-forward-updated-01535/?utm_medium=textlink&utm_term=continuereading
from the German Navy Blog Marine Forum, daily news page (http://marineforum.info/Daily_News/daily_news.html) : Daily 22 July, Southern Partnership Station 2014: JHSV-1 SPEARHEAD arrives at Puerto Barrios (Guatemala), unload gear and personnel for the second (five-week) phase of SPS14 … after offload, the ship will leave port to conduct anti-drug patrols.
Apparently the class as designed was not up to the slamming they have encountered. The bows are being reinforced. Also having generator problems. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-14/navy-s-fast-sealift-ships-can-t-stand-buffeting-from-high-seas
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