The leased U.S. Navy catamaran Swift — “High Speed Vessel” in milspeak — is headed to Latin America to test the Navy’s new “Global Fleet Station” concept, which envisions transport ships acting as miniature sea bases, hauling and supporting contingents of engineers, boat crews, civil affairs specialists and doctors, all specializing in stabilizing and rebuilding failing states. Cue the press release!
Global Fleet Station pilot 2007 is a U.S. Southern Command-directed operation implemented by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and carried out by HSV 2 Swift. Embarked on board Swift is the staff of Task Group 40.9 and several training teams from various U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard commands. U.S. Marine Corps and Department of State units are also planned to host information exchanges and training with the partnership countries.
I covered the fleet station idea with great excitement back in the fall for Defense Technology International:
[A] fleet station would be stacked with forces ideal for rebuilding ruined infrastructure, training foreign security forces and winning the support of suffering civilians, but its heaviest weapons would be the machine guns belonging to the transport-optimized riverine squadrons. … Rear Admiral Don Bullard says this dearth of firepower is actually a strength for the mission. “The concept is to provide an unobtrusive persistent presence … “
21st-century security means distributing smaller forces over a wider swath of territory to head off emerging crises and counter terrorist and insurgent groups by leveraging all aspects of soft power. The fleet station concept is perfect for these kinds of operations … and would nicely complement the more heavily-armed but equally widely distributed Littoral Combat Ship force that would be tasked with securing coastal areas against smugglers, pirates and seaborne terrorists. Too bad the LCS is in danger of cancellation due to cost overruns.
Sadly, the High Speed Vessels, like Swift, that might support future fleet staions also are in danger of exceeding their budgets, as I report in the current issue of DTI:
Even if they can agree on Joint HSV’s layout, the [Army and Navy] face an uphill battle for funding. In light of their happy experience with WestPace Express, “the Marines would like to have a lot of these things,” [analyst Bob] Work reports. But with shipbuilding budgets stretched by cost overruns on LCS plus with new destroyers priced at $3 billion or more, tentative Navy plans call for buying only three JHSVs between 2009 and 2011 at a cost of around $200 million apiece. Work says that cost figure is unrealistic and that $400 million is more likely. The Army is planning to buy an initial four JHSVs over the same period, but appears unlikely reach its target fleet size if the cost grows, as expected. “The Army wanted 18 to 25,” Work says. “Once they get up to $400 million, the Army has to start saying that C-130s might be okay.” The bottom line for JHSV, Work says, is that “requirements, cost and program requirements all uncertain.”
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As the Cats are built in Australia it would be great if the US could buy some Australian weapons for a change. We buy billions a year in US weapons.
Exchange of trade (in weapons) is a genuine political and economic concern.
Pete
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I can understand the desire to have JHSVs for wartime usage, but I think the case is less clear for Global Fleet Station tasks. Payload, endurance and range are much more important for these “Long War” missions than high speed.
JHSVs do have shallow draft, which is nice for small ports in the 3rd world, but do they give up too much to be more than niche players, IMHO.
They do have that “impress the natives” quality about them that I’m sure the USN likes.
To me, focusing on long-endurance Coast Guard cutters and even converted RO/RO cargo freighters is a better idea.
The new USCGC Bertholf can cruise for 12,000 miles and 60 days before it needs replenishment.
Couple these with a converted cargo ship that can operate several helicopters, carry a riverine squadron, and has enough space for a containerized hospital, workships and equipment to repair local infrastructure, and containerized housing for large numbers of specialists – all at a reasonable price. These ships also have extremely long range, which greatly reduces the impact they have on fleet logistics.
I’m thinking something along these lines,
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ro-ro-26.htm
http://www.fsg-ship.de/2product/1prod/pdf/ro-ro_2700_mil.pdf?size=495KB
[...] It happened quietly, without much media coverage, against the backdrop of ongoing fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan. In October, the U.S. Navy amphibious ship Fort McHenry sailed from Italy, bound for the West African coast with a contingent of sailors, doctors, scientists, aid workers and military trainers. Alongside the High-Speed Vessel Swift, Fort McHenry settled in for a long stay. The medical staff treated sick kids. The scientists partnered with local researchers to study environmental damage. The trainers hosted classes for African military personnel. It was, in a word, revolutionary — a smooth blend of military, technical, scientific and humanitarian outreach that will do more to further U.S. interests than any pitched battle against insurgents. And it hugely advanced the Navy’s “seabasing” concept. Now, after six months, Fort McHenry is wrapping up its mission. But the “African Partnership (Global Fleet) Station” (nxtbook!) isn’t going away. A new ship and new people will take Fort McHenry’s place. And according to a Pentagon spokesperson I chatted with this morning, the new station might be manned mostly by the U.S. Coast Guard! No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
[...] Actually, the Navy agrees, according to analyst Bob Work. He says the seven “high-speed vessel” ferries the Navy is buying starting in 2010 will take over soft-power missions from the amphibs. [...]
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[...] 130 : CVN-21 Ford-class aircraft carrier 20 : SSN-774 Virginia-class submarine 50 : DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer 25 : DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer 6 : Littoral Combat Ship 15 : LPD-17 San Antonio-class assault ship 40: LHA-6 America-class assault ship 5 : T-AKE Lewis and Clark-class logistics ship 2 : Joint High-Speed Vessel [...]
[...] Some of the most capable ships during our ongoing Middle East wars, as well as in soft-power deployments to Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere have been these high speed vessels. Whether ferrying supplies for troops or disaster relief, they are quite handy vessels, and in wartime, could perform mothership duties for smaller craft, as we have seen. [...]
[...] Fortunately, the Navy’s on it. The next iteration of Africa Partnership Station, this summer, will be anchored on Swift, the 300-foot-long catamaran, drawing only 11 feet. The Navy has only two catamarans in service, but will add at least 10 in coming years. [...]
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