USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23)
 The Impeccable at Sea |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | March 28, 1991 |
| Keel laying | March 15, 1992 |
| Launch | August 28, 1998 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | March 22, 2001 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
5368 tons |
| length |
85 meters |
| width |
29 meters |
| Draft |
8 meters |
| crew |
25 civil, 25 military |
| drive |
2 propellers, diesel-electric driven |
| speed |
12 knots |
The USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) (English impeccable , German perfect ) is a surveillance ship of the Military Sealift Command . Originally up to five ships of the Impeccable class were to be built, but one unit remained. She is a United States Naval Ship (USNS) in the service of the US Navy.
history
Planning and construction
The order for the Impeccable class was awarded to the American Ship Building Company . It was supposed to be an enlarged version of the Victorious class .
The class should receive five units with the hull numbers -23 to -27. The first unit was named Impeccable , the second was to be called Integrity . American SB keeled the hull of the first unit in 1992, but went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1993 . In 1995 the United States Navy decided to have the semi-finished hull completed and awarded the contract to Halter Marine . The Impeccable was launched there in 1998, and in 2001 it was added to the fleet. The other four planned ships of the class were canceled without replacement.
Calls
In 2007 the Impeccable took part in the Valiant Shield maneuver .
In 2009, Impeccable operated in the South China Sea , around 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of the Chinese island of Hainan in international waters. On March 5, a Chinese frigate came within 100 meters of the Impeccable , while a Harbin Y-12 flew over the ship at a low altitude. On March 8, the Impeccable was shadowed by several Chinese ships, and two trawlers were maneuvering dangerously close to the American ship. Chinese crew members attempted to damage the Impeccable's towing sonar with grappling hooks and forced it to perform an emergency stop maneuver by stopping their engines close to the bow. The Navy then ordered the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93) as escort to the Impeccable , which then left the region.
China justified its action with the fact that the Impeccable was located within the exclusive economic zone of China.
technology
The Impeccable is 85 meters long and 29 meters wide, its hull is made in SWATH shape. The hull is above the surface of the water, on two torpedo-shaped floats that provide lift and propulsion. The diesel-electric drive drives one propeller per float.
The main task of the Impeccable is to monitor sea routes and measure the seabed. To do this, she carries a passive AN / UQQ-2 (Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System, SURTASS) towed sonar with which she goes on patrol. The Impeccable is unarmed.
Web links
- Data Sheet (English).
- Impeccable on globalsecurity.org (engl.)