In the June 2003 Proceedings, Commander John Cordle wrote an outstanding article, "High Speed Is the Future." We would like to further inform readers that the Navy accepted custody of the high-speed vessel Swift (HSV-2) on 15 August.
In 2001, the mine warfare command-and-support ship Inchon (MCS-12), completed a successful western Pacific deployment and approached an extensive depot-level maintenance availability. She was 32 years old and needed significant work to continue operations. In October 2001, months before her availability period, the ship experienced a fire that caused more than $10 million in damages and resulted in the decision to decommission her. At about the same time, the Office of Naval Research, Naval Warfare Development Command, and Marine Corps Combat Development Command, in partnership with the U.S. Army, signed a lease for the highspeed wave-piercing catamaran Joint Venture (HSV-X1).
The Joint Venture proved so successful that Mine Warfare Command requested the purchase or lease of an HSV as an interim replacement for the Inchon. With the strong support of Atlantic Fleet Commander Admiral Robert Natter, the Navy pursued the lease of a larger, more capable HSV to fulfill mine warfare tasks and support additional Navy and Marine Corps experimental requirements, including the littoral combat ship (LCS) program and sea basing.
The Swift is the first high-speed vessel designed from the keel up to support the U.S. Navy. Built by Bollinger-Incat in Hobart, Australia, it incorporates many unique attributes:
*Light-weight marine aluminum construction
*Speed of more than 46 knots
*Shallow draft
*Superior maneuverability
*Minimum crewing concept
The ship is 98 meters long, with a beam of 27 meters and a 3.4-meter draft at full displacement. Much like manning a U.S. ballistic-missile submarine, the Swift has two 40-person crews to maximize operational availability. It is capable of unrefueled ranges in excess of 4,000 nautical miles.
The helicopter flight deck and storage hangar are fitted and sized for two MH-60S helicopters. A novel extruded aluminum, bead-blasted flight deck eliminates the need for nonskid paint products and recurring maintenance. The duplex stainless steel tie-down aircraft fittings are a first-they will not rust or wear because of corrosion, which rids the ship of the problems experienced with forged steel fittings. The helicopter storage hangar is equipped with a light-weight curtain instead of the traditional heavy steel doors.
The vessel is not painted, but has been treated on her exterior with a Incat blasting process that provides a minimum-maintenance haze-gray appearance. The process saved four tons of paint and the maintenance and storage of hazardous material that would have gone with it.
The Swift has a reconfigurable passenger compartment that can seat 250 combatequipped Marines in airlinestyle seats and provide 103 permanent berths; another option provides 128 seats and 187 berths. The ship has a mission bay with 15,500 square feet of vehicle and module space, and headroom of 16 feet. She is equipped with a motion compensating dual-winch, remotely operated crane for launching and recovering boats, unmanned underwater vehicles and other payloads, and an articulated vehicle ramp. Both the ramp and mission bay are designed to accommodate transportation of the M1A1 main battle tank. Armament includes a Mk-96 25-mm stabilized gun on the bow, a remote controlled EX-45 40-mm, 50-cal, or 7.62-mm (selectable) stabilized gun system on the stern, and several additional crew-served weapons to counter terrorist and small-boat threats.
To accomplish mine warfare commandand-support tasks, the Swift has been equipped with a powerful communications suite and the Lockheed Martin Integrated Combat Weapon System to act as the command-and-control interface for modular weapon systems. In addition, the Naval Research Laboratory's Integrated Surveillance System has been installed.
The Navy has taken advantage of the lessons learned from the Joint Venture and the Army's high-speed theater support vessel Spearhead (TSV-1X). The Bollinger-Incat team incorporated more than 75 enhancements in the Swift during construction, and demonstrated unusual flexibility and a strong desire to meet the Navy's needs. It took only ten months from contract award to ship delivery-record time for putting to sea a truly transformational ship.
Because the Swift was built to meet commercial standards and intended for modular payloads, the Navy could use commercial high-speed vessel training courses for the crew, thus enabling her to proceed directly from new construction to deployment. She departed on her maiden deployment only 11 days after delivery.
The Swift is a completely automated "sea frame" ship that can perform many missions. Building on lessons learned during the testing of the Joint Venture and that ship's wartime deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Swift brings new capabilities and unparalleled opportunities for tactical innovation to the Navy-Marine Corps team of the 21st century.
Admiral Ryan recently relinquished command of Mine Warfare Command. Captain Grimland, his staff requirements and tactics officer, recently transferred to the Naval War College.