HSV-2 Swift
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The HSV-2 Swift is a high-speed catamaran in military use by the United States Navy and belongs to the class of so-called High Speed Vessels (HSV). It is currently used as a command ship for warfare with sea mines and as an experimental platform for the Navy and Marine Corps on a trial basis. Since it has not officially entered service, the ship does not have the USS prefix . It was built by the Australian shipyard Incat, which specializes in catamarans .
history
During a joint operation with the Royal Australian Navy in East Timor , the US Navy became aware of one of the transport ships used by the Australians, the HMAS Jervis Bay , a sleek catamaran whose sister ships serve as a car ferry in the Australian coastal waters .
In 2001 it was decided to lease such a converted catamaran for military use for an initial period of two years . The HSV-X1 joint venture was born. Its speed, versatility and simplicity delighted those responsible, and in 2002 a second catamaran was leased, the TSV-1X Spearhead , a former car ferry, now in service with the United States Army as a so-called Theater Support Vessel (TSV). As always in military terms, the X stands for experimental ; The ship serves as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator (ACTD) , i.e. a ready-to-use product that is put through its paces in tough everyday life and is ultimately to be mass-produced with the knowledge gained from it.
Mission profiles
The Swift is a result of these tests, which were made with its predecessor joint venture and the US Army Spearhead . A total of 75 improvements were introduced after the Spearhead already showed around 100 improvements compared to the joint venture .
It has an extremely high degree of automation . Computers control almost every function on the ship. A system called Combatss even allows remote control from the bank.
There are many possible uses for a future fleet of HSVs. As a transport ship, this type of ship allows troops including their material such as B. to transport heavy tanks M1A1 four times faster than before by sea. Another configuration is that of a naval warfare command ship . For this purpose, several special trailers would be placed on the loading level, in which the additional troops could sleep and shower. There are also two Seahawk helicopters on board.
The Maritime Intercept Operations Configuration includes the carrying of light attack helicopters and small speed boats of the type RHIB (Rigid-hulled inflatable boat) to land suspicious ships on the high seas. A configuration as a floating hospital would also be possible by loading the appropriate modules on truck trailers. Furthermore, this ship is ideal as a base of operations for special units such as the Navy SEALs thanks to its high speed, the shallow draft, the integrated command facilities, the large helicopter platform, the ability to carry whatever is needed for the mission in the huge hold (e.g. . desert patrol vehicle (FAV) Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB), transport helicopters, helicopter gunships in support, Seal Delivery vehicles (SDV) and unmanned air, water and underwater vehicles). As a result, the different teams stay close to each other, which reduces coordination problems and is therefore very much welcomed by the special forces.
Calls
The Swift carried troops into the Iraq war , brought relief supplies to Southeast Asia as part of international aid after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and took part in numerous maneuvers, including a. in West Africa, participated in different roles. In September 2005 , the Swift was ordered to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina off Louisiana .
Further whereabouts
In July 2013, the Swift returned to Incat in Hobart to be overhauled for a sale or charter. The ship was reportedly used by the National Marine Dredging Company ( UAE ) from July 2015 .
Huthi -Rebellen alleged around the 1 October 2016 around the Swift off the Yemeni coast in the Bab-el-Mandeb to have sunk -Straße. Military circles in the United Arab Emirates claimed that the ship was involved in an "incident" in which no one was injured. It was not stated whether there was any damage. While Saudi Arabia said its military rescued passengers from a damaged UAE ship on the morning of October 1, 2016. An unnamed US Department of Defense source said that four shoulder-fired rockets were used in the attack. In contrast, the Houthi rebels stated that it was a C-802 / Noor missile. Other sources in the U.S. Department of Defense reported that the Swift was towed into Eritrea on October 3, 2016 .
Photos from October 5, 2016 show the ship burnt out, but buoyant.
Quotes
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“I can tell you that Incat has hit a home run with this ship! What an awesome piece of equipment. We have had minimal problems during a higher than designed or intended operation tempo. The vessel is near perfect for the intended US Army mission, and in 18 plus years of driving and working about boats, I've never had so much fun. We hit and sustained 48.7 knots running down the coast of Qatar, unbelievable. "
“I can tell you that Incat [Note: the manufacturing company] hit the bull's eye with this ship! What an impressive piece of war equipment. Even when we went faster than what the ship was designed for, we had minimal problems. The boat is nearly perfect for the US Army mission, and I've never had so much fun in over 18 years at sea. We reached and maintained a speed of 48.7 knots [over 90 km / h] while cruising along the Qatar coast, incredible. "
Web links
- Globalsecurity.org - HSV (English)
- US Navy High Speed Vessel (HSV) at usmilitary.about.com (English)
Remarks
- ↑ Nick Clark: Swift returns to Hobart , The Mercury. July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
- ↑ Jeremy Binnie: HSV-2 turns up off Aden . In: IHS Jane's Defense Weekly , July 28, 2015. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015.
- ^ Yemen: Houthis claim attack on UAE military vessel . aljazeera.com. October 1, 2016.
- ^ Saudi-led forces rescue passengers from vessel off Yemen: SPA . October 1, 2016.
- ↑ name = "Tomlinson, 2016"
- ↑ name = "Tomlinson, 2016"
- ↑ Dylan Malyasov: UAE media releases photo of HSV-2 Swift it was attacked by a C-802 missile | Defense blog. In: defense-blog.com. Retrieved October 12, 2016 .
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 3, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
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