Posted on 06/03/2003 5:53:03 AM PDT by ONA-ASIS
OUR CRAFT IN DEMAND
Australian ocean-going technology is to the fore as the US military seeks a fleet of mini aircraft carriers.
The United States military is trying to interest Australia in joint development of a mini aircraft carrier. Ironically, the idea is Australian, an extension of the successful high-speed ferry. Incat, the Tasmanian builder of wave-piercing catamaran ferries, already has two on lease to the US, both in service in the Persian Gulf, and a third will be delivered in September.
Austal Ships in Perth has a 101m fast-ferry in service with the US Marines in the western Pacific, ferrying troops and equipment between Okinawa, Japan, and South Korea. Austal is now in a major US consortium using its fast-speed trimaran hull in a multi-billion-dollar bid to build new coastal combat ships for the US Navy. Austal's coastal ship, capable of landing special forces and mine sweeping, would also use advanced radar technology being developed by CEA in Canberra.
Bob Clifford, Incat's chairman, found Pentagon doors open to him when he visited recently. Clifford talked to US navy chiefs and the director of the Office of Force Transformation, Admiral Arthur Cebrowski. "Gradually our catamaran fast ships are getting bigger," he says. "Now we have them with helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicle capacity. We are now moving this forward to a mini carrier."
Clifford found Cebrowski interested in the seaframe concept: a high-speed catamaran adaptable to carrying amphibious forces, tanks, helicopters or aircraft.
In Canberra last week, John J. Garstka, Cebrowski's deputy director of US Force Transformation, bounced the mini-carrier idea right back to Australia, floating it at a network-centric warfare conference. It could be Australia's next big export earner, he says.
Garstka told The Bulletin that Cebrowski had combined high-speed catamarans with his own idea of not having all naval air assets committed to one big carrier. The combination of the high-speed vessel, vertical/short take off and landing (VSTOL) aircraft and attack helicopters made up a "multi-function vessel".
"If Australia and the US wanted to collaborate on this, it would be great," he said. "You are buying joint strike fighters, but not the VSTOL version. Maybe you need to think about that. You could project your power a lot more effectively with this capability."
Naval hearts in the Canberra audience raced at Garstka's proposal. The RAN has not had a carrier in 20 years, but the navy has never quite given up hope.
Aldo Borgu, of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, applauded the ingenuity of combining amphibious and fighter aircraft on a high-speed mini carrier, but doubted whether the US or Australian military would buy it. Neither military had a mini carrier in its development sights. Moreover, the VSTOL version of the joint strike fighter was the least likely of the three versions to proceed.
Costs are another problem. Although Garstka says a mini carrier will be inexpensive compared with the giant US carriers, Borgu doubts it will be less than $2bn. It will also need a protective force.
Clifford is proposing the mini carrier to the RAN. Garstka says the idea could boost interoperability for future coalitions. "If you turn up with a high-speed vessel and VSTOL aircraft you'll be on everyone's dance card."
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