New Theatre Support Vessel for III MEF

[bsmart]

The Aussies have kicked another goal by winning a three year contract to supply the 100m Westpac Express to the III MEF as a theatre support vessel. See link below
http://defence-data.com/current/page13455.htm
The supplier of the vessel, Austal, is building a new shipyard in Alabama. This is to supply further needs to the US Armed Forces as they are required.
The Wespac Express will be renamed. The vessel has the capacity to carry 950 fully kitted Marines and 550 tonnes of support gear, vehicles and supplies etc. This is the second high speed cat that the US has picked up from Austal in the last 6 months and looks promising to Australia's premier builder of high speed catamarans. The vessel will be based in Okinawa and operate in the Western Pacific theatre.

[seahunt40]

Anyone remember the SWCM........it was also a cat.

I heard this thing really flies !
Anyone have info ?

[bsmart]

I did a write up on the first Hi-Speed Cat that the USN picked up on the 2nd Nov in the SBU section as well. The HMAS Jervis Bay as it was named in the Royal Australian Navy, was rated at around 50+Kts, which for a troop carrier is a great advantage. It means they can virtually outrun a torpedo and be a difficult target to hit at that speed as well. We used the HMAS Jervis Bay at the outbreak of East Timor, when the pro Indonesian Militias were running around destroying everything and everyone. We had a Rapid Deployment Force landed by C-130's to keep the heads of the Militia and their Indon mates down and then we followed up with a couple of battalions on the HMAS Jervis Bay. It was also capable of carrying LAV's and landrovers and 6x light trucks. Good platform, versatile, plenty of room, Only requires about 20 crew if that. The manufacturers of both Cats are setting up a shipbuilding yard in Alabama to meet future requirements for the US DOD and whatever Civvy contracts come their way.
Johnno:D

[seahunt40]

OUTSTANDING !!!

Last year I believe, I ran into my active duty counterpart at SEAL Team Three, and he had just spent several weeks on one.

He loved it.

Man, I hope this works out, it seems everytime we try and get a Cat for our use, something happens and the thing gets cancelled. It sounds like this thing would be perfect for SPECWAR, its a Mobile Sea Base that can do 50+ knots. I wish we had one in the Gulf in 88 !

[bsmart]

It's a very versatile platform which would be ideal for 3C purposes as well as a high speed delivery platform for SPECWAR purposes. It has the ability to carry SDV"S or whatever is required for any type of job. The HMAS Jervis Bay, now TSV XI (Theatre Support Vessel 11) was pretty plush for a military vessel. It had a large lounge area fitted out for civvies no doubt in it's first life and it was retained because bunks weren't required for the troops cause they were only going to be aboard for about 10-12 hours that it took to get from Darwin to East Timor. I don't know what they've done to it apart from putting a helo deck on the stern area, abaft the wheelhouse deck, but there's plenty of room to be utilised if need be. I wouldn't mind betting that these hi speed cats will come into their own in the near future. It'd be interesting to see if they tried some weapons systems out on it, especially with the stability it has at high speed. The applications it could be used for are many and I'm sure that some smart cookie has worked it out and it'll be a case of wait and see.
Johnno:D