US Navy orders next-generation hovercraft

Gestart door jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter), 07/07/2012 | 14:05 uur

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New generation LCACs arrive at NSWC Panama City

10 SEPTEMBER 2020

by Richard Scott

The first two new-generation Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) craft procured under the US Navy (USN) Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) programme have arrived at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) to support ongoing research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) activity.

Arriving on 2 September, the two craft – LCAC 100 and LCAC 101 – were escorted in by LCAC 91, which serves as NSWC PCD's existing RDT&E asset.

Intended to replace the USN's current LCAC connectors, the new LCAC 100 class is designed to transport personnel, weapons, vehicles, and stores from amphibious vessels to shore at high speed. The SSC programme of record is for one test and training asset and 72 operational craft.

Textron Systems was in July 2012 awarded a USD212.7 million fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of the SSC test and training craft (LCAC 100). The company subsequently received follow-on orders for LCAC 101–108, and in April this year received a contract for LCAC 109–123.

However, the SSC programme has encountered developmental difficulties. The construction of LCAC 100 ran late, and builders trials in September 2019 revealed a series of deficiencies requiring remediation. In a report released in June, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that gearbox problems and other technical issues had delayed initial operational capability (IOC) and created "uncertainty in the production schedule". The navy's fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request suggests that IOC will now not occur until the second quarter of FY 2022.

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LCAC 100 (foreground) and LCAC 101 arrived at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division on 2 September. (Ron Newsome/US Navy)

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/new-generation-lcacs-arrive-at-nswc-panama-city
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

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Textron-Built Ship-To-Shore Connector Ready For Navy Acceptance Trials

https://news.usni.org/2019/10/21/textron-built-ship-to-shore-connector-ready-for-navy-acceptance-trials


LCAC 100, Textron's first-in-class Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), conducts its first on-water test outside of the company's facility in Louisiana on April 10, 2018. Textron photo
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Lynxian


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Textron nears completion of SSC prototype

Richard Scott, London - IHS Jane's Navy International - 17 January 2017


Rendering of the Ship-to-Shore Connector. The USN's programme of record calls for a total buy of 72 craft. Source: Textron

Key Points
. Subsystem testing of LCAC 100, the SSC prototype, is now underway
. LCAC replacement promises greater efficiency and other improvements over the legacy design

Textron Marine & Land Systems expects the prototype Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) air-cushion landing craft to begin afloat testing in the next few months ahead of delivery to the US Navy (USN) later this year.

Meanwhile, the company has disclosed that it has begun work on a further four SSCs at its facility in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The SSC was designed to replace the USN's current Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) fleet, building on that design pedigree but incorporating a number of engineering improvements to increase payload, reliability, and availability, and at the same time improve 'producibility'. Examples include a new skirt that is lighter and has less drag, a strengthened cargo deck, a 74-ton payload capacity, more powerful and more fuel-efficient engines, and more efficient propellers. Another change is the introduction of a new L-3 Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Navigation (C4N) suite in the cockpit module that will enable a reduction from three crew (as per the LCAC) to two.

Following an industry completion, Textron Marine & Land Systems was in July 2012 awarded a USD212.7 million fixed-priced incentive-fee contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) covering the detail design and construction of an initial SSC Test and Training Craft (designated LCAC 100). The contract also included options for a further eight low rate initial production craft.

LCAC 100 began build in November 2014. According to Bill Kisiah, vice president for marine systems at Textron Marine & Land Systems, the prototype is now nearing completion in New Orleans. "The test and training craft [LCAC 100] should be delivered this year," he said. "It should be floating and doing tethered tests by around the end of March/April timeframe.

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(327 of 635 words)

http://www.janes.com/article/67007/textron-nears-completion-of-ssc-prototype
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Elzenga

Kan alleen niets vinden over de "enclosed personnel transport module" bij de SSC. Ben benieuwd hoe dat er uit ziet..

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US Navy's SSC hovercraft progresses through production

Daniel Wasserbly, Washington, DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly | 07 December 2015


The USN's SSC, shown here in an artist's rendering, is to replace its legacy fleet of LCACs, with the first SSC expected in 2017. Source: Textron Systems

The US Navy's (USN's) first production model Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) hovercraft is entering its next manufacturing stages as the hull has been completed.

The craft's buoyancy box is to now transition from a hull assembly line to the first craft assembly station for integration of above deck modules such as the personnel and equipment module, command module, and engine module, navy officials said in a 4 December statement.

The first production-model SSC, LCAC 100, is scheduled for delivery by contractor Textron Systems in 2017.

According to the navy, "the craft's hull is initially constructed upside down for ease of welding and construction, and then flipped to complete its assembly." To do this, LCAC 100's 40-ton hull was attached to a turnover fixture and winches help move the craft while a crane pulls the hull up and over, the service explained.

The SSC is to have a 74-ton payload at speeds of more than 35 kt. It can use an enclosed personnel transport module to carry up to 145 combat-equipped marines or 108 casualty personnel, and can accommodate current Abrams main battle tank configurations. The vessel measures 90 ft long and 40 ft wide.

It is meant to supplant ageing Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft, the original prototypes for which date back to the 1970s and were designed with a 20-year service life. The USN hopes to buy 73 SSCs (a one-for-one replacement with one craft for testing) for a USD47 million average per unit cost and achieve an initial operational capability in 2020 with eight hovercraft.

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http://www.janes.com/article/56490/us-navy-s-ssc-hovercraft-progresses-through-production
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.


jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

US Navy orders next-generation hovercraft

7 Jul, 2012

WASHINGTON: The US Navy on Friday ordered the first of its next-generation landing craft, with options for eight more, as it moves to replace its aging hovercraft fleet, the Pentagon announced.

The contract with defense development firm Textron totaled $213 million and may increase to $570 million if the eight options are exercised, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The first Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) is scheduled for delivery in 2017, and should be operational three years later.

SSC hovercraft are expected to gradually replace the 91 Landing Craft Air Cushion-class (LCAC) hovercrafts, which the navy has used since 1982.

The cost of buying and operating the SSCs will be comparatively lower than that incurred by the older LCACs, said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

The SSC should be able to transport a load of 74 tons - sufficient for moving several tanks, at a speed of 35 knots (65 kph) over a distance of more than 25 nautical miles.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/us-navy-orders-next-generation-hovercraft/articleshow/14727748.cms