High speed. Low cost. Multimission. Minimally manned. The high-speed wave-piercing catamaran Joint Venture could offer the agile, flexible response the Navy needs for the future.
Standing on the bridge of the 370-foot wave-piercing catamaran USS Moose River, Commander Chase was enjoying his morning coffee, watching one of the ships in his high-speed vessel (HSV) squadron, the USS South Branch, making 40 knots through windswept, ten-foot seas. Thinking back over the past several months, he marveled at the number of different missions his squadron had been assigned and the incredible versatility of his ships. Only two days ago, two were engaged in port security operations supporting a battle group port visit, another was on a high-speed logistics run for Marines in support of a noncombatant evacuation, and the fourth, with a maritime intercept boarding team embarked, had run down a vessel smuggling arms for terrorists in just 15 feet of water.
Thirty-six hours ago the Moose River and South Branch had been recalled and reconfigured for a mine warfare mission; the theater mine warfare commander and his staff were now embarked. Loaded with MH-60 helicopters, a 60-man staff, four berthing modules, two helo support modules, hotel service modules, a marine mammal detachment complete with holding pool, mine warfare sensor packages, rigid-hull inflatable boats, and unmanned mine hunter-sweepers, the formation was headed for the Strait of Malacca, where they would join the battle group. Their mission would be to verify there are no mines in the straits, to prevent minelaying operations, and to ensure the straits remain open for the battle group's transit.
Operations would start the next day, when the HSVs arrived after a 24-hour run of almost 1,000 nautical miles.
The Art of the Possible
One of the U.S. military's greatest challenges is moving forces and equipment quickly to theater and within theater. In future conflicts, we might not have the luxury of a long buildup, especially in the case of a regional crisis that demands agile, flexible response to match a wide range of tasks. An air-capable ship, supporting helicopters and/or unmanned aerial vehicles, rapid roll-on/roll-off cargo loading, and capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots with an endurance of more than 4,000 nautical miles, would be of enormous value.
Visualize a ship drawing just 12 feet of water when fully loaded with more than 1,000 tons of cargo or hundreds of troops and an embarked staff of 60, in addition to a 30-person crew. The ship's shallow draft gives it access to five times as many ports as ships with more conventional hull forms. Designed for flexibility, it can be reconfigured in a matter of hours to do a multitude of missions yet costs a fraction as much as most of today's combatants.
That ship—a derivative of today's experimental high-speed vessel, Joint Venture (HSV-X1)—or a ship like it, soon could be in active service with the U.S. Navy.
As the Navy seeks to maximize operational flexibility across a wide range of tasks, a critical element of the HSV concept is its ability to reconfigure for numerous mission profiles from a single, cost-effective baseline hull. The HSV can accept and integrate modular equipment suites, containers, and mission-specific equipment. Its small crew not only assists in the reconfiguration but also is responsible for essential maintenance, engineering, and navigation. They drive the ship while the embarked staff conducts the assigned mission.
There are a wide range of HSV concepts under development. The baseline concept envisions such key features as self-defense capabilities, a helicopter deck, an aircraft/cargo elevator, a multifunction command-and-control suite, and vehicle ramps and vehicle stowage areas for roll-on/roll-off containers, vehicles, mission planning cells, crew quarters, and weapon modules.
The command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) suite will be "plug and play," using Ku band satellite connectivity supplying up to 16 Mbps of bandwidth, although higher capacity is possible with additional equipment. The ship will have space to accommodate a mission-specific staff to complement ship's company. When the mission is complete the staff departs, leaving the ship ready for rapid reconfiguration for the next assignment from the fleet or local commander.
Testing the Concept
History has shown that experimentation is key to innovation. To that end, the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command have partnered to investigate the range of capabilities and operational limitations of a high-speed wave-piercing catamaran in Navy, naval, and joint maritime operations. Built in Tasmania by INCAT, the Joint Venture has been leased for a series of experiments that started in the fall of 2001 and will continue throughout 2002, with an option for a second year. The decision to exercise the option year will be based on an assessment of the initial findings and the potential value of additional analysis versus cost.
Led by the Navy Warfare Development Command, the experiment program has two important ground rules: First, the Joint Venture is a surrogate, not a prototype. HSV-X1 is not a ship the Navy has bought or necessarily intends to buy; it is an experimental hull. Second, the experimentation program is about investigating operational utility and limitations; it is not an operational evaluation.
With those two caveats in mind, the following types of experiments indicate the breadth of envisioned HSV capabilities and the varied interests of the sponsors:
- Instrumented sea trials—sensors placed throughout the hull to measure sea keeping and structural performance
- Deployment and exploitation of advanced distributed sensor fields
- Employment as a mine warfare command-and-control ship
- Loading and unloading vehicles transferring to and from lighterage
- Night high-speed deployment of sensors and unmanned vehicles along contested coastlines
- Launch and recovery of small boats
- Intratheater lift operations to move naval equipment to and retrograde a sea base of operations
- Support for small boat and helicopter operations for Special Operations Forces insertion
- Laying and monitoring antisubmarine warfare sensors
When experimentation is complete, the Navy will have a much clearer picture of what is possible with HSV ships.
Expanding the Navy's Horizon
The HSV concept is one answer to an operational requirement likely to become increasingly important to our nation's maritime security: a low-cost, medium-lift, high-speed ship, capable of multiple missions, and able to operate with minimal manpower. Numbers of ships count, too, as our Navy undoubtedly will continue to be called on to respond rapidly in multiple locations around the globe. The HSV's high speed and shallow draft will facilitate quick access to an expanded number of ports and other locations in the littoral. Its rapid reconfiguration capability should enhance the mission effectiveness and flexibility of our forward deployed forces significantly. Table 2 provides a number of roles and missions for which the HSV might augment the fleet. Determining the real utility and effectiveness of future HSVs, however, will require that we constantly test new ideas. Exploiting operational innovation is the key to sustaining our technological and warfighting lead throughout the world.
Admiral Natter is Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.