The U.S. Navy’s future construction of large unmanned surface vessels (LUSV) opens up new possibilities for additional modular weapon options and professional roles that other U.S. Navy ships cannot perform. It is true that LUSV is not a truly designed warship in the strategic and tactical sense, but through the author’s speculative conceptual imagination and innovation, LUSV’s long open cargo compartment can provide the U.S. Navy with unprecedented and unheard of LUSV role possibilities. sex. Not suitable for any other U.S. Navy warship, manned or unmanned. Naval News will discuss possible future roles and weapon choices in four parts: Part 1: LUSV as a deep strike platform, Part 2: LUSV as an air defense and anti-ship platform, Part 3: LUSV as a vehicle transport or aviation platform and Part 4: LUSV as a professional role or tank platform. These LUSV concepts are based on factual data and open source intelligence information, combined with the forecast requirements that the US Navy and US Marine Corps may need to meet their global needs on the high seas and coastal areas.
Take a look at the rapidly evolving game-changing, cross-domain, and cross-service concept of the Strategic Capability Office and @USNavy: the SM-6 launched from the modular launcher of the USV Ranger. This innovation drives the future of joint capabilities. #DoDInnovates pic.twitter.com/yCG57lFcNW
The U.S. Department of Defense released a short Twitter video showing the U.S. Navy’s large unmanned surface vessel (LUSV) USV Ranger launching a standard SM-6 surface-to-air missile in a test. This test fire verified three points: First, it proved that the unmanned LUSV can be armed. Second, it proves that the U.S. Navy can pack (four) vertical launch system (VLS) units into a standard ISO commercial shipping container for concealment, camouflage, and dispersal of firepower. Third, it proves that the U.S. Navy is continuing to build LUSV as an “affiliated magazine” for the fleet.
TheWarZone published a rich and in-depth article about the launch of SM-6 surface-to-air missiles by the large unmanned surface ship USV Ranger as a test. That article explained the purpose of the container launcher, USV Ranger, standard SM-6, and why this test is important to the US Navy.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Alliance (DOTC) web page shows the funds for the installation, transportation and storage of the MK41 VLS awarded under the August 2021 contract in ISO transport storage containers.
In addition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) roughly estimated the cost of capital in fiscal year 2022 and the 30-year shipbuilding targets for manned and unmanned surface ships, which can shape the future forces of the US Navy and the number of future VLS units.
The short video did not show who and what acted as the SM-6′s fire control sensor, medium-sized unmanned surface vessel (MUSV), unmanned aerial system (UAS), orbiting satellite or manned platform. It is a warship or a fighter plane.
Stories explaining Twitter videos, standard missile performance specifications, and U.S. Navy unmanned ships and systems have been published on the Internet. Based on open source intelligence (OSINT) collected from various blogs, photos, and websites, Naval News will speculatively study which possible future weapon and role options are suitable for LUSV, paying particular attention to how and why these suggested options benefit the overall tactical picture distribution Type maritime operations, distributed lethality, and increase the U.S. Navy’s “Ship and VLS Count.”
These four parts “What is the future role and armament options of the U.S. Navy’s LUSV?” Naval News commentaries and editorials are written in order and should be read in order to better understand and refer to the examples provided.
For the purpose of purely hypothetical and speculative analysis and discussion, “Navy News” will explore other armaments and functions of the large unmanned surface vehicle (LUSV) based on the current and future wishes, challenges and responses of the US Navy and the US Marine Corps Possibility of function. The threat of the country. The author is not an engineer or a naval ship designer, so this story is a specious naval novel based on real ships, LUSV (LUSV has not actually been deployed and armed), and real weapons.
The USV Ranger has a bridge with cab windows, equipped with windshield wipers, so that sailors inside can see it. Therefore, the USV Ranger can choose to be manned or unmanned, and it is not known whether the USV Ranger will sail in this SM-6 test fire.
“The [US] Navy hopes that LUSV can operate with human operators, or semi-autonomously (human operators in the loop) or fully autonomous, and can operate independently or with manned surface combatants.”
Naval News contacted the U.S. Navy for more information about the performance specifications of the LUSV, such as endurance, speed, and range. The Navy spokesperson replied that the information on the LUSV that the U.S. Navy wants to make public has been posted online on the grounds that the speed and range of the LUSV are classified, although public sources stated that the range of the LUSV is estimated to be 3,500 nautical miles (4,000 miles or 6,500 nautical miles). kilometer). Since the size and shape of the LUSV to be built by the Navy in the future has not yet been determined, the voyage number is not particularly fixed, and can fluctuate to accommodate more airborne fuel to achieve a longer voyage. This is important because in the private sector, commercial ships that are very similar to the Navy’s LUSV design vary in shape, size, and length, which affects their performance specifications.
“The [U.S.] Navy envisions LUSVs to be 200 feet to 300 feet in length, with a full displacement of 1,000 to 2,000 tons, which will give them the size of a frigate (that is, larger and smaller than a patrol boat rather than a frigate).”
The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps may finally realize that recent maturity in the true combination of robotics, automation, software and hardware, and the combination of manned and unmanned systems can create a deadly, powerful and useful LUSV The combination. Multiple mission roles in the future.
These LUSV concepts may be very convenient and flexible for combat commanders, because no other U.S. Navy warship can transport and have the role and capabilities that LUSV can play, and with the hypothetical LUSV role described in these naval news, LUSV can be more than just It is the “auxiliary magazine shooter” originally envisioned by the Navy.
The OSINT website indicates that LUSV can have performance characteristics similar to Fast Support Vessel (FSV). FSV looks very similar to USV Nomad, so let us assume that LUSV is the militarized FSV of the Op-Ed, even if Seacor Marine® (selected hypothetical example) was not selected for the six LUSV contracts of the US Navy, as shown in the figure Shown. For this column, we will use Amy Clemons McCall®LUSV from Seacor Marine as an example. Amy Clemons McCall® is 202 feet long (within the US Navy’s LUSV size range of 200 to 300 feet, but well below the 1,000 to 2,000 tons displacement of 529 US tons (479,901 kg), which means the LUSV will be longer and heavier) . Nevertheless, the open cargo hold is the focus of this column, and the Amy Clemons McCall® example has an open cargo deck that is 132 feet (40 meters) long and 26.9 feet (8.2 meters) wide, capable of carrying 400 tons of cargo. Please note that Searcor Marine® FSV models come in multiple sizes and speeds, so the US Navy can choose to build LUSVs in multiple sizes to meet their requirements, and Amy Clemons McCall® is not a warship.
At approximately 32 knots, Seacor Marine® FSV Amy Clemons McCall® (assuming the selected LUSV example in this Op-Ed) can drive in much faster than 14 knots (16.1 mph; 25.9 km) War zone/h) The US Navy hopes that the minimum speed of the light amphibious warship (LAW) built for the US Marine Corps can still keep up with the US Navy’s aircraft carrier strike groups and capital ships. Please note that Seacor Marine® also manufactures FSVs that can reach speeds above 38 knots, which means that the speed is comparable to that of the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS at approximately 44 knots or 51 mph; 81 km/h. ) And expedition fast transport ships (EFT ferries sail at 43 knots (or 49 mph; 80 km/h).
First of all, readers should pay attention to the photos in this story, especially the photos of the USV Ranger and the empty rear deck sailing next to USV Nomad, as well as the photo below with a white SM-6 four-segment ISO container.
The above photo of the LUSV Ranger shows a mixture of a white container at the stern and a small container in the middle of the ship. One can assume that these smaller containers are equipped with fire control, generators, command centers, radars, and related support equipment for SM-6 testing. In the photo analysis, one can assume that the rear of the LUSV can connect three white VLS containers in series (3 x 4 MK41VLS units = 12 consecutive missiles), which seems to be correct, because the width of the FSV is 27 feet (8.2 meters), The standard ISO freight container has a width of 8 feet (2.4 meters), so each ISO freight container has a width of 8 feet x 3 containers = 24 feet, of which approximately 3 feet can be used to install the rack.
The WarZone article shows that the VLS unit is MK41 standard, capable of launching 1,500+ kilometers (932+ miles) Tomahawk subsonic cruise missiles, anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) carrying small homing torpedoes, air defense, anti-ship/surface, ballistic missile standard missile, air defense And Anti-Missile Modified Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and any future missiles that can be fitted into these units.
This configuration of the MK41 VLS with or without a container can enable the US Navy and US Marine Corps in long-range precision firepower (LRPF) to be beneficial to distant targets and naval strategic and surgical strike purposes.
Assuming that the space directly behind the wheelhouse of the LUSV Ranger is occupied by smaller containers used for MK41 VLS firing control and power generation, photos of the stern of the USV Ranger may allow another row of VLS containers to be placed in the ship for 16-24 Mark 41 VLS batteries In a horizontal container that can launch and launch missiles. This does not take into account that the same MK41 VLS unit can be placed vertically on the deck without any ISO transport container shells, such as those in AEGIS warships.
The Mark 41 VLS unit assumes that it can be placed vertically on the deck of the LUSV (for example, the deck on the US Navy AEGIS battleship). As shown in the test trailer, the US Marine Corps test-fired sea battle axe (see the picture below). This vertical VLS unit configuration may not only affect the center of gravity, seaworthiness, the line of sight of the driver’s cabin, and the navigation performance of the LUSV, but also affect the concealment, stealth, and ship contour, but it will greatly increase the number of VLS units due to the area occupied. The area is small (probably the 64 VLS tubes first mentioned by the US Navy in the Congressional Research Service’s August 2, 2021 statement), so they are only carried.
However, the US Navy seems to prefer a horizontal VLS layout, where the unit is raised from an ISO container.
“The Navy hopes that LUSV is a low-cost, high-endurance, and reconfigurable ship based on a commercial ship design. It has sufficient capacity to carry various modular payloads-especially anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and strike payloads, Anti-ship and surface attack missiles. Although the Navy testified in June 2021 that each LUSV would have 64 vertical launch system (VLS) missile launch tubes, the Navy subsequently stated that this was a misstatement and the correct number was 16 to 32 VLS units.”
Note that 32 VLS units are possible because the U.S. Navy requires a LUSV that is 200-300 feet long, and the example 202-foot FSV Amy Clemons McCall’s® cargo deck is 132 feet long. The U.S. Navy LUSV can be built over 202 feet to transport more ISO shipping containers for the transportation of more than 32 VLS missile tubes in ISO shipping containers. For speculative discussion, if replicated in the stern of the Ranger and in the boat, the 16-24 VLS units seem to be correct for the estimated length of the USV Ranger’s photo analysis based on the ISO container on the stern. This will still leave some deck space behind the cab for additional shorter modules for VLS battery power, computers, electronics, maintenance, data link, and command and control.
Regardless of which VLS transport configuration the U.S. Navy ultimately decides to adopt, the test firing of the standard SM-6 missile proves that the U.S. Navy is addressing a vital need, that is, it must replace and provide VLS units for distributed maritime operations and distributed lethality. Decommissioning of old warships equipped with AEGIS radar and its VLS unit library.
Mark Cancian, a military force and operations expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), expressed his opinion on the use of LUSV as an “affiliated journal” for naval news:
“LUSV can operate as an’affiliated magazine’ and provide some swarming tactics envisioned by naval strategists. A lot of development and experimentation must be done before this becomes possible. However, the Navy has only just begun this work.”
The U.S. Navy’s LUSV can transport 40-foot ISO containers of the U.S. Army’s long-range hypersonic weapons (LRHW, speeds of 1,725 miles/2,775 kilometers, speeds exceeding Mach 5) on a modified Army M870A3 trailer, acting as a transport vehicle erection launcher.
According to the picture of the US Army, the modified M870A3 trailer can be installed with two LRHWs, and the 6×6 FMTV Battery Operation Center (BOC) can also be installed. It is very likely that TEL will not leave the coastline from LUSV because LUSV cannot be docked, but if sea-to-shore transportation is required, the Army M983A4 tractor is 34 feet (10.4 meters) long, 8.6 feet (2.6 meters) long, and M870A3 is 45.5 feet long. foot. The Navy’s LCAC and SSC hovercraft have a cargo deck length of 67 feet, so the approximately 80-foot LRHW TEL tractor and trailer combination is not suitable for navy hovercraft. (The LHRW TEL tractor and trailer combination will be installed on the 200-400-foot light amphibious battleship deck for direct shoreline offloading).
For LUSV transmission, in theory, three M870 TELs of 8.6 feet wide and 45.5 feet long can be installed at the stern of the LUSV and in the middle of three trailers for 12 LRHWs and FMTV BOC and TEL power modules behind the cab, or 6 Two LRHWs TEL trailers are equipped with three Army M983A4 tractors for unloading at the terminal.
The following specifications of the M870A3 semi-trailer show that this LUSV with M870A3 TEL and LRHW is very reasonable. The semi-tractor prime mover can be a U.S. Army or U.S. Marine Corps armored cab tractor. LUSV will still reserve enough cargo space and length for the 6×6 FMTV Battery Operation Center (BOC) and any related TEL power generation, fire control, data link and communication, and safety equipment modules.
For the all-sea hypersonic missile force without US Army soldiers on the LUSV, if the Marine Corps is willing to fund the installation of CPS hypersonic missiles on the M870 TEL trailer, the US Marine Corps can use the US Navy’s conventional rapid strike (CPS) hypersonic velocity The missile ship replaces the tractor with a logistic vehicle system to form a land-based long-range precision firepower hypersonic force. Due to the budgetary constraints of the U.S. Department of Defense and knowing that the U.S. Marine Corps does not have much experience in large land-based hypersonic missiles, the naval news writer decided to stick to the U.S. Army’s long-range hypersonic weapons as the role of LUSV Hypersonic Deep Strike. typical example.
“The Army’s long-range hypersonic weapon program is expected to pair the general gliding aircraft with the Navy’s booster system. The system is designed to have a range of more than 1,725 miles and “provide the Army with a prototype strategic attack weapon system to defeat A2/AD capabilities. , Suppress the enemy’s long-range firepower and engage with other high-return/time-sensitive targets.” The Army is requesting $301 million in RDT&E funding for projects in fiscal year 2022-the application for fiscal year 2021 is $500 million, and funding for fiscal year 2021 It plans to conduct flight tests of LRHW in fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023, put experimental prototypes in fiscal year 2023, and transition to the record plan in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024.”
In addition to carrying only three Zumwalt-class destroyers (replacing 155 mm turrets) and a limited number of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines modified from conventional U.S. Navy rapid strike hypersonic missiles, the LUSV for transporting U.S. Army LRHW will be a more flexible option .
As a high-priority, important and expensive national security strategic asset, the LHSV equipped with the U.S. Army’s LRHW TEL needs to better protect it from the attacks of its counterparts, warships, submarines, and special forces, because they serve as a potential joint U.S. Army’s Cruising in the ocean/U.S. Navy “Power Show”. Nevertheless, the presence of the 12 LRHW maneuvering on the high seas has a powerful deterrent against any form of aggression, because the presence of LUSV is not so easy to detect or track compared with battleships. Joint force distributed maritime operations and joint force distributed lethality maneuvers around the world can use LRHW-equipped LUSVs at a speed comparable to that of US Navy capital ships. Most importantly, TEL will be on standby 24/7 to launch attacks from the high seas in the combat area instead of being stationed in the United States, as this will require time and effort to launch hypersonic missiles from land by military cargo planes or maritime transport to the United States. . LUSV greatly improves the tactical flexibility of deploying hypersonic (and possibly Tomahawk cruise) missiles near any threat. In addition, it also improves the survivability of maneuvering assets with unpredictable maritime mobility, independent of fixed runways and fixed Land launch sites can be targeted by long-range tactical ballistic surface strike missiles from other countries. In addition, the U.S. Navy can use the U.S. Army M870 LRHW TEL in combination with the Navy ISO transport container, and provide long-range offensive and defensive missiles for air defense using standard and ESSM missiles and anti-surface and anti-ship defense using sea Tomahawk missiles to protect important superb skills. Sonic TEL missile. Even the decoy LRHW TEL and ISO shipping containers can be used as an effective deterrent, allowing opponents to guess whether LUSV is strategically equipped with hypersonic missiles and the exact number of them.
Aircrew and equipment safety issues must be considered, such as providing life jackets and life rafts for US Army TEL soldiers, as well as providing water and foam nozzles and fire rescue trucks in the event of a catastrophic LRHW rocket engine failure. Fortunately, if the U.S. Department of Defense chooses to install hypersonic missiles on the LUSV, the design specifications should have enough berths for U.S. Army soldiers, Navy sailors, and Marines to cruise at sea for several weeks.
The author’s comments of Naval News will further discuss the role and weaponry options of LUSV in the following comments-Edition Part 2-4.
Post time: Oct-28-2021