(hat tip to SG for emailing these pics w/ text)
Ain’t she sumthin’….
Here’s a look at the U.S. Navy’s New Pirate Catchers! This is the U.S.S. Independence (LCS-2). It is a Triple Hulled, Weapon-Laden Monster.
There have been rumors about the U.S. Navy’s speedy new triple hulled ships, but now they’re for real.
She’s at 43 knots here running at half power. Note the absence of a bow wave.
Turns tightly, allegedly this was done at 43 knots… and from the look of the small bow wave, she’s still in the turn.
And then we have the massive helo deck big enough for a CH-53. Last time I talked with the SURFPAC guys years ago, this was the LCS they liked because of the huge storage capacity under that flight deck and the size of the flight deck
Note that there is very little spreading wake. In fact, it does not look like a wake at all, just foamy water from the water jets. Somehow, at 40 knots, you’d think there’d be more wake.
Here it is under construction….
The U.S.S Independence was built by General Dynamics. It’s called a “littoral combat ship” (LCS), and the tri-maran can move its weapons around faster than any other ship in the Navy. (Ironic that with all that high tech built in, the ship reminds us of the Merrimac ironclad from Civil War days.
Littoral means close to shore, and that’s where these very ships will operate. They’re tailor-made for launching helicopters and armored vehicles, sweeping mines and firing all manner of torpedoes, missiles and machine guns.
These ships are also relatively inexpensive. This one’s a bargain at $208 million, and the Navy plans to build 55 of them.
This tri-maran is the first of a new fire breathing breed, ready to scoot out of dry dock at a rumored 60 knots.. It’s like a speedy and heavily armed aircraft carrier for helicopters.
Pirates Beware!!!
Wooo Hooooooo!!! GO NAVY!!!
Virginia —- not Merrimac ……………….. was shaped that way to hopefully cause cannon balls to hit at an angle.
Ahhhhh, well,
If Gen. Beauregard had made ONE MORE charge at Shiloh, and Gen. Longstreet had advanced at the time Gen. Lee had ordered ………..
I’ve been hoping we’d start fighting back. This ship comes “not a moment too soon”. Thank goodness!!! I’m relieved and happy there are more of these on the way.
The real solution is not new ships, but taking the offensive to somalian pirate bases. We should destroy all anything that floats in Somalia and off its cost and then bomb the homes of the pirates.
I wonder why that hasn’t been done.
Are these the replacement for current Frigates?
This ship will not prevent pirate attacks unless we deploy many more of them than current NATO task force. Whether a ship travels at 30 knots or 50, the operating area is too large. We cannot respond quickly enough even with helicopters flying at 130 knots.
What day do you wont to do lunch. Linda and I free this week. No doctor appoitments.
Homer
How about this?
http://www.soldierlife.com/2006/06/26/general-black-jack-pershing/
That’s pretty awesome.
But I can tell you from personal experience – there’s probably no ship close enough to help. You run or you fight. So: arm the ships like the Maersk Alabama.
(and keep a few of these arround too 😉
James wrote: “If Gen. Beauregard had made ONE MORE charge at Shiloh, and Gen. Longstreet had advanced at the time Gen. Lee had ordered ………..”
Then what? You would still have someone to pick your cotton?
(And it wasn’t Longstreet’s fault they lost at Gettysburg. Lee should have paid more attention to what Longstreet was telling him. Even if they had pushed the Yankees off that hill, they couldn’t afford what it was going to cost them in manpower. Lee butchered his own men at Gettysburg.)
Back on topic: It’s a great ship, and I hope they get a whole fleet of them over there.
So we catch a pirate, then we read them their Miranda rights, provide them a lawyer, get them a cushy jail cell with full meals, a great gym and library, full medical and dental benefits and then wait for the protracted trial which allows them to present their deprived childhood and grievances against the Western world. They end up getting a scholarship to Harvard for deserving minorities. We may need the speed of these ships to stay away from pirates who want to get caught and enjoy the bennies instead of returning to their shithole native country. Do we have the cojones to use these ships properly? What happened to the good old days when pirates were just hanged or shot?
At a cost of $114,400,000,000 just who in the
h— has that kind of money for “pirating
control”. The Navy is way out of bounds by
comitting that kind of cash to something that
NON ONE knows is going to be needed or work.
We have three oceans and at best would need 2-3
in each ocean, not 55. Once again, we pay to
protect the world…R U Kidding?
Doubt “killing Pirates” is this ships primary mission. It pretty much will do most anything the Navy needs in close.
USS Independence. The next generation of Naval warships has arrived! It’s fast. It’s deadly. And it takes the fight right to the enemy’s doorstep. Designed specifically for close-to-shore operations, these Littoral Combat Ships – or LCSs – feature a wide array of manned and unmanned 21st century weapons systems built to counter both surface and subsurface threats. When she joins the fleet in 2010, Independence will further broaden America’s dominance of the world’s oceans.
Sure thing, my friend. $114 XXL can be added to the $39 XXL saved by cancellation of the FA-22 Raptor. Let’s use it for “PORK” like Turtle Tunnels, Bovine Flatulence Study or ???.
Meanwhile, this great country of ours can reduce the unemployment by building and staffing “WHITE FLAG FACTORIES> GROW UP NOT BAIL OUT!
Awesome ship! The side view really masks the width of this beast. Even if we couldn’t have a huge number of ships such as this off the coast of Somalia, if we used the firepower it may act as just the deterrent needed to make piracy a lot less fruitful. Besides, these ships have many more usages than anti-pirate. Go Navy! Go Technology!
My take! http://bit.ly/66NguU
Those ships are so impressive. They almost look like they’re from a future sci-fi movie. My grandfather who was in WWII would be really impressed with our fleets today.
That ship does not go 43 knots at 1/2 speed dont know where you got that info but it is not correct.
Now let’s paint it black like the stealth bomber