Page 27: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2024)

COMBAT CRAFT

Ghost, a high-speed stealth boat that was nearly cancelled, has been resurrected. The low-observ- able Ghost is a SWATH (small waterplane area twin hull) vessel with a speed of up to 35 knots and a very shallow draft. General Dynamics Mission Systems has teamed with Juliet Marine Systems to make Ghost con? gurable as a manned, remote control, and unmanned platform and to integrate the modular payload capability for a broad spectrum of missions. ombat craft are used by both large and small navies, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC), Commander Navy In- and every navy, coast guard or maritime service oper- stallations Command (CNIC), Naval Special Warfare (NSW),

Cates some kind of boats. and other customer enterprises.

The U.S. Navy’s boats are used for a variety of tasks from The Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division op- personnel and cargo transport to ship repair and maintenance erates its Combat Craft Division at facilities on Joint Base to environmental response. Little Creek/Fort Story and Naval Base Norfolk, and provides

The combat craft range from pull sized patrol boats down to in-service engineering support for the Navy’s existing ? eet ridged-hull in? atable boats (RIBs) armed with machine guns. of combat craft and boats, as well as design, prototyping and

Boats include shipboard RIBs, maritime security boats, dive sup- modi? cation of boats to upgrade their capabilities or serve in port boats, workboats, and a number of others that help carry out new roles. CCD is also called upon to advise commands on escort, anti-terrorism / force protection, search and rescue, mari- what boats will best serve the required purpose.

time interdiction and visit, board, search and seizure missions. Ships carry their own boats, but other boats and craft must

The U.S. Navy’s boat ? eet is operated by different entities. be transported by ship or aircraft.

The shipboard boats come under Commander Fleet Forces Designs, materials, propulsion and systems have been

Command and Commander Paci? c Fleet. Workboats and dive evolving rapidly to meet emerging requirements and counter platforms used for ship husbandry come under Naval Facili- growing threats.

ties Engineering Command or Naval Sea Systems Command.

Boats used for special operations or maritime security func- Materials tions are managed by Navy Special Operations Command and Fiberglass, aluminum and composite are commonly used

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. for boats and combat craft. New and larger 3-D printers are

The Navy’s boats and combatant craft acquisition and life making it possible to print entire boats.

cycle management (LCM) services are the responsibility of The University of Maine (UMaine) Advanced Structures

PMS 300 under PEO Ships, which supports major custom- and Composites Center in Orono, Maine has a 3D printer ers such as Naval Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC), that has successfully produced two new large-scale boats in

The NCPV Betelgeuse is an 85-ft. vessel built by Metal Shark.

Photo courtesy Dominican Navy www.marinelink.com 27

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