 USN experimental Small water area vessel. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder |
|
| Cost | US$15 million |
| Identification | IMO number: 9113252 |
| Fate | Scrapped 2019 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 180 tons |
| Length | 104 ft (32 m) |
| Beam | 55 ft (17 m) |
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Armament | |
HSV Sea Slice was an experimental vessel, built by Lockheed Martin, [1] for the United States Navy, later used in commercial service.
Based on a variant of the SWATH hull design, known as "SLICE," Sea Slice is characterized by four teardrop-shaped submerged hulls—double the number seen on most previous designs. The design reduces waves and drag, which allows a SWATH vessel to "...operate at higher speeds while retaining their characteristic low motions in a seaway". [2] Designed for operation in the same area as, and to mount similar armament to, a littoral combat ship-type corvette, [3] the planned weapon options included the Millennium Gun and the NetFires System, intended to launch Lockheed's (now cancelled) Loitering Attack Munition.
Sea Slice was withdrawn from Navy service and made available for purchase for civilian use, [4] and purchased by Danish company, Advanced Offshore Solutions ApS, for conversion to a wind farm support vessel. [5] [6]
In May 2019 the vessel was scrapped in Esbjerg, Denmark after a failed attempt to repair the engine. [7]
A littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for near-shore operations by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals", although their ability to perform these missions in practice has been called into question.
A small waterplane area twin hull, better known by the acronym SWATH, is a catamaran design that minimizes hull cross section area at the sea's surface. Minimizing the ship's volume near the surface area of the sea, where wave energy is located, minimizes a vessel's response to sea state, even in high seas and at high speeds. The bulk of the displacement necessary to keep the ship afloat is located beneath the waves, where it is less affected by wave action. Wave excitation drops exponentially as depth increases, so wave action normally does not affect a submerged submarine at all. Placing the majority of a ship's displacement under the waves is similar in concept to creating a ship that rides atop twin submarines.
Sea Fighter (FSF-1) is an experimental littoral combat ship in service with the United States Navy. Its hull is of a small-waterplane-area twin-hull (SWATH) design, provides exceptional stability, even on rough seas. The ship can operate in both blue and littoral waters. For power, it can use either its dual gas-turbine engines for speed or its dual diesel engines for efficient cruising. It can be easily reconfigured through the use of interchangeable mission modules. Helicopters can land and launch on its deck. Smaller water craft can be carried and launched from its stern. The vessel is being developed under the program title Littoral Surface Craft-Experimental with a hull type designation Fast Sea Frame. The first vessel has been assigned the hull classification symbol FSF 1 and also has been referred to as the X-Craft. The vessel was designed by British company BMT Nigel Gee who continue with a role in the development of the vessel.
Austal Limited is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed ferries, and supply or crew transfer vessels for offshore windfarms and oil and gas platforms.
The Independence class is a class of littoral combat ships built for the United States Navy.
The Freedom class is one of two classes of the littoral combat ship program, built for the United States Navy.
USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) was a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship to be named for the city of Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin.
USS Detroit (LCS-7) was the fourth Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the sixth ship to be named after the city of Detroit, Michigan.
USS Little Rock (LCS-9) was a Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS) of the United States Navy. She is the second ship named after Little Rock, the capital city of Arkansas.
Juliet Marine Systems Ghost is a super-cavitating stealth ship. The ship's experimental hull design can reduce hull friction to 1/900th that of conventional watercraft. Ghost was designed, developed, and built by the private American company Juliet Marine Systems.
USS Sioux City (LCS-11) was a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the first ship named after Sioux City, the fourth-largest city in Iowa.
USS Wichita (LCS-13) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy, the third ship named after Wichita, the largest city in Kansas.
USS St. Louis (LCS-19) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the seventh ship in naval service named after St. Louis, Missouri.
USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth vessel in the navy named after Indianapolis, Indiana.
USS Billings (LCS-15) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the first ship in naval service named after Billings, Montana.
USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the first naval ship named after Cooperstown, New York.
USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul (LCS-21) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the second ship in naval service named after Minnesota's Twin Cities.
USS Marinette (LCS-25) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the first commissioned ship, and second overall in naval service to be named after Marinette, Wisconsin, the other being Marinette (YTB-791), a Natick-class large fleet tugboat.
USS Nantucket (LCS-27) will be a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She will be the third commissioned ship in naval service named after Nantucket.
USS Cleveland (LCS-31) is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship of the United States Navy. She is the fourth commissioned ship in naval service named after Cleveland, the second-largest city in Ohio.
