FutureWarTHINK 021: Weaponized Catamaran AeroHydro SFBs


Even more U.S. Navy (USN) bureaucratically and culturally resisted than Mother ships operating Small, Fast Boat (SFB) swarms is having the latter operate their own air cover.

Japanese Rufle Seaplane fighters bounce American counter-parts in WW2!

Japanese seaplane fighters like the Rufe were the nemesis of USN Patrol Torpedo aka "PT boats"--SFBs in WW2; during daytime the 60 mph speed while 2x over-matching larger warships' 30 mph speeds--leave visible wakes in the water for seaplanes with a 5x speed differential to spot and attack them. 

Is the USN Doing the BEST it Could?

Hardly. 

Bad Weak Weapon, McHale's Navy or Gilligan's Island--without Redheaded Hot, Ginger?

The anemically gun-armed USN Mk. VI patrol boats weigh 72 tons--yet cannot as configured operate any large, weaponized naval aircraft--yet under 20-ton catamarans do it routinely in civilian life opposed only by the harsh maritime environment aka The Battle Against The Earth (TBATE). 


The Mark VI is 84.8 ft (25.8 m) long,[9] significantly longer than previous classes of Navy patrol boats. It has a crew of 10x Sailors and can carry 8 additional personnel. The interior is spacious, with berthing for the crew and shock-absorbing seats for other occupants; the seats and sound deadening berthing spaces and galley allow the crew to operate in relatively high sea states while attenuating crew fatigue and risk of injury. The boats are fully networked with a command, control, communication and computing, surveillance and intelligence (C4SI) suite for enhanced situational awareness, survivability, and multi-mission support which includes flat screen monitors mounted throughout the ship. Payloads can be configured to fulfill missions ranging from mine hunting to defending against swarm boat attacks.

Standard armament consists of two remote-controlled Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm chain guns and six crewed M2 .50 caliber machine guns. Depending on mission needs, gun mounts can hold M240 machine guns, M134 miniguns, and Mk 19 grenade launchers. The Mark VI is equipped with the MK50 Gun Weapon System (GWS), a shipboard version of the vehicle-mounted M153 CROWS remote turret that enables crewmen to use its camera and gun from the operator's station below deck.[10] It is also planned [EDITOR: bureaucratspeak for bullshit--it ain't going to happen] to mount guided missiles such as the BGM-176B Griffin. Advanced lightweight armor plating is installed around key elements such as the crew compartment, engines and fuel tanks.

The aluminum-hulled Mark VI is powered by two MTU 16V2000M94 diesel engines connected to water jets that propel it faster than 35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h), with a maximum range of 600 nmi (690 mi; 1,100 km). The reconfigurable main aft cabin can hold payloads such as Navy SEAL operators or a medical facility. The rear deck and stern is able to launch and recover small boats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). The craft's mast lowers to decrease overall height, allowing the craft to enter amphibious ship well decks. Mark VI can be transported and deployed by Navy amphibious [EDITOR: mother] ships such as landing helicopter docks, amphibious transport docks, and landing ship docks. 

Each Mark VI cost $15 million to build.[1][2][3][4]

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Now compare this to several under 20-ton, CIVILIAN Outlaw Catamarans



The 10.7m MKI Outlaw Cat has a measured length of 12m, a beam of 4.2m and the draft is 550mm. The hull has a 6mm bottom, 5mm sides, 5mm frames and a 10mm transom.
Pictured is the walk around version and is built to survey 2C and has 12 passengers and 2 crew. The Cat is powered by 2 x 350hp Yamaha Outboards and has a top speed of 44 knots.

This boat operates at the Horizontal Falls in the Kimberly.

It has under deck esky/kill tanks, 360ltrs of fresh water, 1500ltrs of fuel, Separate toilet/shower and a double bed. It has a built in bar fridge and BBQ and a transom door wide enough to winch a jet ski onto the deck.

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Robinson 66 Helicopter + under 20-ton Catamaran SFBs





The closest approximation by the inefficient military navies of the world is a small ship (yacht) operating small helicopters--which means from the "mother" ship that conveys the SFB swarms over long distances across seas/oceans. 

Lynx + Yacht-Sized Military Patrol Boat




AeroHydro SFBs



YES, the Mark VIs could catapult-launch & parachute recover small, weaponless UAVs like the Israeli Skylark--but if they find enemies 1st Over-The-Horizon (OTH) what are they going to kinetically DO about it armed with only short-range pop guns? Charge into enemy Anti-Ship Missiles (ASMs) hoping to not be fiery exploded to get within close ranges?


We can do far better than this if we start with a militarized, weaponized (The Battle Against Man) catamaran that can operate naval aircraft by controlled vertical and water landings to be our Stern Landing Vessel-derived, Fast Landing Ship Tank (FLST) or Aircraft Battle Frigate (ABF) 300 foot long, mother ship's missile swarm SFBs. 



Drone Little Bird: Make Ours NOTAR, please!

The standard naval helicopter capability for each SFB would be a MD Helicopters/Boeing NOTAR A/MH-6 Little Bird with floats which can be manned or unmanned carrying up to 6x SEAL commandos or AGM-114 Hellfire or BGM-176B Griffin ASMs, 30mm automatic cannon or unguided or guided 2.75" Hydra 70mm rockets or the MQ-8  Fire Scout drone--all of which can see and/strike the enemy 1st OTH protecting its SFB and its FLST/ABF from the longest possible safe stand-offs.  

007 TECH: 30mm ASP Naval Mounting: Commander Ian Fleming Would Have Loved It!




Commander Fleming has Bond explode a criminal's helicopter into an exploding fireball using a truck-mounted Oerliken 20mm automatic cannon in his book, "Diamonds are Forever" (DAF).

The folding-wing seaplane with greater speed/range than the small naval helicopter standard would be the SeaWolf Amphibian (SWA) which would take-off & land from the water by ramp & winch. 





The USN must regain large-scale, long-ranged, seaplane ocean/sea water and dry landing capabilities lost when P5M Marlin large amphibians were unwisely retired in 1967 in the middle of the Vietnam war when they were most needed. A small amphibian operated from both AeroHydro SFBs and their FLST/ABFs is a great way to start and regain seaplane mission capabilities the USN were once the world leaders at doing:


Each AeroHydro SFB would carry at least 2x ASMs which could be killer bees like the Israeli HAROP loitering munition:



The USN's robotization of large 600-foot, capital ships at $2B each will not solve the enemy numerical "home field" swarm advantage--but the AeroHydro SFB swarms we propose 6-12x each from affordable, mass-produced FLST/ABFs can turn-the-tables on any enemy's size and qualitative advantage "long distance" from American home bases. 

No Sea Killer Bees 4 You: USN Refuses to Adopt Mother Ship + SFB Warfare so Calls on USCG

The point is that the USCG are a RESCUE & LAW ENFORCEMENT bureaucracy NOT EVEN IN DoD!

WHY are they even in the Persian Gulf doing the USN's dirty work?

They are NOT going to have Anti-Ship Missiles (ASMs) to do NAVAL WARFARE properly.

They COULD have a helipad for helos or a crane to operate small, folding wing seaplanes.

https://1sttac.blogspot.com/2021/02/future-warthink-021-weaponized.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Adak

Initial actions during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM

The maritime conditions of Iraq and the Northern Persian Gulf can greatly limit the operations of large naval vessels and warships. Due to this and the Navy's lack of in-shore patrol craft, a large part of the U.S. Navy's request for Coast Guard assistance in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) centered on the service's shallow-draft patrol boats. Cutters of the 110-foot Island class, also known as WPBs, would serve as the mainstay of shallow-water operations. The deployment of the 110-foot patrol boat Adak serves as a snapshot of WPB operations in OIF. Deployment of the WPBs overseas would represent the first combat deployment of Coast Guard patrol boats since the Vietnam War, even though other Coast Guard assets had served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the 1990s.[6]

In early February 2003, the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area Command deployed to the Persian Gulf the WPBs Adak, Aquidneck, Baranof, and Wrangell. The 110s arrived in Bahrain, at the beginning of March, having ridden on board MV Industrial Challenger for thirty-five days. On March 5, a heavy-lift crane off-loaded the WPBs taking only six hours to set all four in the water. Adak ran through sea trials for two days and on 9 March, Adak and sister ship Aquidneck deployed to the Persian Gulf followed by Baranof and Wrangell on 12 March.[6]

In the days leading up to combat operations, Adak focused on maritime interdiction operations. Coalition vessels had restricted passage of local watercraft out of the Khawr Abd Allah (KAA) Waterway, thinking that these vessels might carry mines or escaping Iraqi officials. By mid-March, local watercraft had attempted several breakouts with fleets of dhows and small boats and, on 17 March, a large breakout consisting of sixty Iraqi watercraft attempted to evade Coalition units. With the vessels scattering in all directions, Adak, Wrangell, and their small boats, aided by other Coalition units, managed to corral all of the Iraqi watercraft and board them. None of the vessels carried escaping Iraqi leaders and all had discharged any illegal cargoes typical of small smuggling vessels. After boarding teams had thoroughly searched the dhows, Adak and the other patrol vessels allowed the watercraft to proceed along a specific route into the northern area of the Persian Gulf.[6]

In the early morning hours of 20 March, Coalition forces initiated combat operations with air attacks against key military targets in Baghdad. The Adak and Aquidneck enforced a security zone while the USS Higgins launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles into Iraq.[7][8] In addition, Coalition forces had to secure Iraq's Khor al-Amaya Oil Terminal and Mina al Bakr Oil Terminal to prevent environmental attack by the Iraqi regime. On the evening of 20 March, SEAL teams supported by Polish Special Forces personnel, stormed the oil facilities. During the operation, Adak, along with Baranof, maintained security around the terminals to prevent reinforcement or escape by Iraqi military forces. After the SEALs cleared the terminals of Iraqi personnel, weapons and explosives, Coast Guard personnel from Port Security Units 311 and 313 arrived to secure the facilities.[6]

Next Adak received orders to patrol the KAA Waterway, so by the early morning hours of 21 March, Adak had steamed up the KAA to serve as a guard ship. In fact, of the 146 Coalition naval units in the Persian Gulf, Adak stationed itself deepest in enemy territory and served as the "tip of the spear" for Coalition naval forces. During its early morning patrol, Adak and navy patrol Chinook surprised and stopped two down-bound Iraqi tugboats, including one towing a barge, and ordered them to anchor. At first, the vessels raised no suspicions for they ordinarily serviced tankers and smaller watercraft that plied local waters. But the two patrol vessels continued guarding the tugs and a special boarding team composed of Australian and American explosives experts searched the tugs and barge and found concealed within them a total of seventy contact and acoustic mines. Had they been released, the mines could have sunk or heavily damaged Coalition naval vessels operating in the Persian Gulf. The team secured the tugs and Chinook transported the tug crews back to a Coalition naval vessel for processing. The captain of one of the mine-laying tugs admitted that the sight of the "white patrol boat" had prevented him from deploying his deadly cargo.[6]

Throughout 21 March, the captain and crew of Adak experienced a great deal of excitement. At 06:00, Australian and British frigates began naval fire support operations in what became known as "Five-Inch Friday". The warships poured nearly 200 rounds of four-and-a-half-inch (114 mm) and five-inch (127 mm) shells into the Iraqi defenses while Adak screened the vessels to ensure that no unauthorized watercraft approached. During this time, Mackenzie and his men felt buffeting from the explosions of hundreds of bombs and shells lobbed on shore. British Royal Marines, supported by U.S. Navy and Royal Navy hovercraft, commenced the amphibious assault on the Al-Faw Peninsula; the largest amphibious operation carried out since the Korean War.[6]

During the landings, an Iraqi PB-90 patrol boat had been cruising upstream on the KAA Waterway and positioned itself where it could threaten low-flying Coalition helicopters and provide early warning reports to land-based Iraqi forces on the Al Faw Peninsula. To engage the PB-90, the Coalition command center vectored in an AC-130 gunship, which destroyed the Iraqi vessel. Afterward, a Coalition helicopter spotted three surviving crew members floating down the KAA and notified Adak of their location. Adak conducted Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) operations, recovered three hypothermic Iraqis at 8:30, and transferred the prisoners to an Australian naval vessel for processing. Coalition experts later identified the men as warrant officers from Iraq's Republican Guard.[6]

After Coalition forces wrapped up the initial phase of combat operations, Coalition planners focused on opening the KAA Waterway to vessel traffic. Wrecks from the Iran–Iraq War and the First Gulf War still littered the KAA and its shores, but mines proved a greater concern. Some mines still remained in the waterway from Operation DESERT STORM. Minesweeping operations began on 22 March, with navy [MH-53E] Sea Dragon helicopters towing minesweeping sleds along the waterway. Mackenzie received orders for Adak to join sister ship Wrangell, and navy patrol craft Chinook and Firebolt to escort U.S. Navy and Royal Navy minesweepers up the KAA. The process proved slow as the minesweepers proceeded at a rate of three knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) up the forty-mile (64 km) channel to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. The patrol boats had to stand off 1,000 yd (914 m) from the minesweeping vessels and they often had to station themselves upriver from the minesweepers. On several occasions, the minesweepers located mines in waters previously navigated by the WPBs and, on one occasion, Adak's crew listened as the patrol boat contacted a mine that came to the surface and failed to detonate.[6]

It took about a week to complete mine-clearing operations on the KAA and with Umm Qasr in Coalition hands, cargo vessels could begin steaming into the Iraqi port. Naval combat operations concluded near the end of March, but Adak joined the other WPBs to continue their force protection role and served as escorts while the navy salvage vessel Grapple and the tugboat Catawba removed obstructions in the waterway. On 28 March, Coalition forces sent the first shipload of humanitarian aid into Umm Qasr on board the shallow draft Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir Galahad under the escort of Adak, Wrangell, a minesweeper and patrol craft Firebolt. Adak and its crew continued escort duties along the KAA into early April. On 11 April, Adak escorted Iraq's first commercial shipment on board MV Manar, which carried 700 tons of Red Crescent Society aid of food, water, medical supplies and transport vehicles. Meanwhile, Adak received orders to return to base and, on 12 April, Adak redeployed to Bahrain after completing a thirty-five-day non-stop deployment to the NAG.[6]

On 9 April, organized resistance had ceased in Baghdad, followed in mid-April by a cessation of resistance in most other Iraqi cities. On 1 May, President George Bush announced the end of combat operations in Iraq and the Coalition’s offensive operations came to a close. During OIF, Adak, its sister ships and their crews brought many vital capabilities to the theater of operations. The patrol boats operated for many hours without maintenance in waters too shallow for most naval vessels and served as the fleet's workhorses in boarding, escort duty, force protection and maritime interdiction operations. The characteristic white hulls of the WPBs also provided a less antagonizing presence in a highly volatile region. As in past Coast Guard combat missions, such as Vietnam, Coast Guard patrol boats and personnel exceeded all expectations in shallow-water and in-shore maritime operations. Given the frequency that hostilities erupt in the world's littoral regions, shallow-draft Coast Guard units and their specialized personnel will continue to play an important part in future naval operations.[6]

Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and INHERENT RESOLVE

In a historical twist, the Adak, Aquidneck, and Higgins found themselves working together again. During the 2018 missile strike against Syria, the Higgins launched 23x TLAMs into Syria while Adak and Aquidneck enforced a security zone for her.

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Semper Airborne! 

James Bond is REAL. 

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  2. Tank Small Fast Boats

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWxS1NusEA4

    The BS ending that USMC doesn't need SFBs is intolerable; there will be no F-35Bs once the bloated TIN CAN amphibs are in flames from PDMs. Smaller, armored motherships are needed to operate SFB swarms each with ASMs and a lot of autocannon shells like the 40mm as some suggest and some self-defensive SAMs.

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