US admiral hunting big cats (Australian catamarans for US forces)

The Australian ^ | September 10 2003 | Michael Bachelard

[knighthawk]

THE commander of the US Pacific fleet will drop into Tasmanian shipbuilding yard Incat over the weekend to cast an acquisitive eye over its $78 million catamarans.

Admiral Walter F. Doran will visit the struggling shipbuilding yard in Hobart to see how it makes the vessels that have excited him and other US armed force leaders during sea trials.

Admiral Doran took a high-speed ride on the Incat-built military HSV (high-speed vessel) Joint Venture during operations off the Californian port of San Diego last year.

"I'm very interested," Admiral Doran said yesterday.

"You're going at 35, 36, 37 knots ... you see the size of it, and let your mind think of that, and think about if you had modularised, very high technical capabilities to use it for logistics, to use it for infiltration, maybe you could use it for a command and control platform."

Admiral Doran is responsible for the world's largest fleet &ndsah; 190 vessels, 1400 aircraft and 211,000 personnel. He wanted to see the building process of the fast catamarans, and "talk to some of the designers and engineers and architects and kind of build my own database of what's in the realm of the do-able".

Incat managing director Craig Clifford said his vessels had generated "an extraordinary level of interest from the top down", and Admiral Doran was just one of the senior US military officials who had trekked through his shipyard.

Joint Venture, the catamaran that so impressed Admiral Doran, was deployed in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq war, where it was able to go into very shallow water near the port of Umm Qasr.

Mr Clifford said Admiral Doran's visit could herald a mass order for the ships. He had heard rumours of up to 30 being ordered, worth $2.3 billion, but "it's very early days ... and I wouldn't expect to get orders in that size".

Seven months ago Incat was in receivership, burdened by debt, with three vessels it could not sell. Those have now sold, the debt is clear, and if the interest from the US is any guide, the yard is looking to a bright future.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[Mark Felton]

cool. Time for me to develop an anti-Cat weapon.

(hhhmmm...what to use for test targets?)

[Blueflag]

pix

http://www.incat.com.au/uploaded/18/63233_4005002soudabaycret.jpg

[grobdriver]

You're going at 35, 36, 37 knots ... you see the size of it, and let your mind think of that

Think of being totaly dependent on the wind, there, Admiral.

[MD_Willington_1976]

They aren't (fast cats) all they are hyped up to be...cost the BC government just about half a billion dollars to build and maintain 3 of them...then they sold the whole lot to a Washington State company for $18 million USD.

[Centurion2000]

"I'm very interested," Admiral Doran said yesterday.

BUY AMERICAN FIRST ....

[bayourod]

BUT CAN THEY GO TO WEATHER IN A CHOP?

[grobdriver]

OOpps. That was dumb.
Well, "Cat" brings up a sail in my mind!
;)

Thanks for the pic.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The Navy is not the only service interested. The Army wants Theater Support Vessels to get the heavy metal to the war quicker.

[knighthawk]

You mean we shoudl not buy stuff from these guys?

Australian SAS soldier cited for battling 20 Iraqi troops
Australian SAS in hand-to-hand mountain combat in Afghanistan
Australian SAS leader wins US medal
SAS heroes who dared and won
Hand to Hand (Australian SAS and US Special Forces go Baghdad)
Australian SAS join hunt for Iraq's leaders
HE DID NOT LET US DOWN: FALLEN AUSTRALIAN COMMANDO HONORED BY BUSH
BATTLEFIELD SONG FOR A FALLEN HERO (Aussie soldier in Afghanistan)

[Blueflag]

Any country that refers to the Brits as "Poms" can't be all bad ...

[knighthawk]

I forgot this one:

ELITE Australian troops saved 36 American troops pinned down by enemy fighters during the fiercest battle of the Afghan campaign. In the biggest action involving Australian soldiers since Vietnam, six Americans died and 11 were wounded, but 36 made it out alive thanks largely to two SAS patrols out of sight in observation posts on ridges high above the battlefield.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/643366/posts

[chainsaw]

"You're going at 35, 36, 37 knot

TThe old WWII Destroyers could do that, and pack a punch at the same time.

[knighthawk]

"Joint Venture, the catamaran that so impressed Admiral Doran, was deployed in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq war, where it was able to go into very shallow water near the port of Umm Qasr"

Also see this:

A New Wave: U.S. Army Wants Catamarans for Stryker Brigade
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/856575/posts

[em2vn]

"Incat recently finished building another catamaran for the Navy, the HSV-X2, which will be stationed in Ingleside, Texas. Future catamarans for the military are planned to be built by Bollinger-Incat USA in New Orleans. The Army plans to deploy up to 17 TSVs around the world by 2011."
defenselink.mil.news

[R. Scott]

I’ve talked to several Army sailors on the test vessel – and all seemed impressed and want more in the inventory.
The crew that works with a vessel on a daily basis isn’t as easily impressed as the bureaucratic brass and procurement people, but they do like this.

[R. Scott]

35 knots is a damned sight better than the current 15-20 knots for Army logistics vessels. The ones I was on before retirement had a top speed of 7 knots (the 1466 class LCU), 10 knots (the BDL John Page) and 12 knots (the 1600 class LCU). The newer ones – the LSVs and new LCUs – are a bit faster than the old ones. Clich here to view Army Ships

[NonValueAdded]

Bah, the CIA already has one, just ask Felix Leiter. Here are the top secret specs:

CIA Motor Yacht
(The Living Daylights)

Gadget: CIA Motor Yacht
Movie: The Living Daylights
Owner: CIA
Status: Unknown

The 65-foot long catamaran was Felix Leiter['s] personal surveillance base, decked out with CIA spy equipment.

Use

Bond was lured into a car load of women, and taken to Felix Leiter's yacht in the waters near Tangier as a cover tactic. Once inside Bond met up with Leiter who was sitting behind a bank of video monitors, scanners and surveillance gadgets.

Specs

A 65-foot long and 30-foot wide catamaran, powered by two 840 horsepower diesels, with the following hardware;

• A series of video monitors and security band UHF receivers
• Radio scanners and bug receivers
• Radar and satellite navigation antennae
• Automatic navigation system

courtesy MI6

[Mr. Lucky]

Sixty years ago, an 80' Elco PT boat, armed to the teeth, could do 43 knots, 60 without the torpedoes.