Comments on: High speed, wave-piercing catamaran

High speed, wave-piercing catamaran

QuestionableSwami — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:32:53 -0800

The USNS Swift (HSV-2) looks like something a Bond villian would own, but it's actually one of the most advanced ships owned by the US Navy. Highly manueverable and having a top speed of 51mph, it's heavily automated, capable of handling helicopters, carrying cargo, and launching both manned and unmanned vehicles -- all with only 42 people. It's assisted with relief efforts in Indonesia, Lebanon, and after Hurricane Katrina. But the best thing about the ship? It can be remote controlled through a web browser.

By: panamax

panamax — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:35:13 -0800

Carrier Command 2! I'm actually designing something like this so I'll shut up now :(

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:36:33 -0800

That's a bit of a departure for HSV isn't it?

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:37:58 -0800

Oh, and also, controlled by a browser? What could possibly go wrong?

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:51:12 -0800

This is the kind of thinking that

By: chinston

chinston — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:51:56 -0800

Sweet. You can play "Minesweeper" while you're minesweeping!

By: anser

anser — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:04:19 -0800

I like that it's a converted car ferry.

By: Dr. Curare

Dr. Curare — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:14:04 -0800

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:17:51 -0800

HSV = High Speed Vessel? They couldn't have come up with a snazzier name?

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:30:21 -0800

US Navy orders Trimaran

By: marvin

marvin — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:35:51 -0800

"remote controlled through a web browser" Firefox doesn't work for me. Damn!

By: panamax

panamax — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:41:26 -0800

marvin, turn off yer adblock?

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:44:11 -0800

This sounds like the premise for a really terrible movie.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:50:29 -0800

Advanced weapons systems are so bitchin' cool! Except of course when they are used to kill people and shit.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:02:38 -0800

This is the Bond Villain you are looking for.

By: CynicalKnight

CynicalKnight — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:13:44 -0800

Bond Villians indeed. The moment I saw the first picture of this vessel, "To Hell with Blofeld" from the climactic oil rig battle in Diamonds are Forever began playing in my head.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:23:27 -0800

Here's what it would look like if the Navy painted whiskers on it.

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:30:48 -0800

You in the US have by far the largest military force ever assembled in history. You spend more money on weapons than everyone else put together: you've literally got enough weapons to destroy the planet many times over. Yet it'll never be enough for you -- you'll always need more. No quantity of weapons however great can ever be enough to make a bully forget he's a coward underneath it all.

By: Pinback

Pinback — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:48:03 -0800

... one of the most advanced ships owned by the US Navy. I thought Incat were leasing them out, not selling them? ... reads article ... Yup, leased. Pics of more variations here.

By: panamax

panamax — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:57:33 -0800

lupus: overgeneralize much? 2/3rds of my country are the mushy middle who aren't particularly in touch with facts, reality, history, etc. Around 1/3, divided 2 or 3 ways, are bona-fide extremists who are pushing & pulling the policy debate. The size of the US military is largely predicated by the missions it has been assigned, plus the associated historical momenta left over from the Cold War service communities. Granted, I still think the Pentagon could and should downsize by 50% over the next 10-20 years, but as it stands now this particular warship is something of a positive development for you . . . a trial at rejecting the gigantism, NIH-syndrome, and overkill of present-day warfighting systems like the carrier battle group, ballistic missile submarine, and B-2 bombers. We may bully the world, but we're bullying it toward the status-quo, eg. providing over-the-horizon support for South Korea and Taiwan's independence, and line-of-communications security for the sweet sweet crude we need to import from our friends in the Persian Gulf.

By: allkindsoftime

allkindsoftime — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:36:38 -0800

Cool post, can't believe its been around this long and I didn't run across it already...

By: biffa

biffa — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:12:26 -0800

We may bully the world, but we're bullying it toward the status-quo And that's a good thing is it? Huge amounts of the global population get to live in poverty without adequate food, water, shelter, energy or basic freedoms while the US and its clients get to keep it what way and cream off the wealth that they slave to create? Worth fighting for!

By: Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:09:30 -0800

First off, this was in port the other day, so I checked it out. Pretty impressive. I might be putting in to be stationed on it. Second off, what the hey? This is a Command and Control ship, not a weapons platform. Replacing ships like the USS Blueridge as a very fast hub. Also, the shift from a big bulky force to small dynamic force of little independent ships is a good thing. The Navy knows it doesn't need more firepower; it needs range and versatility. Finally, you know a lot the humanitarian missions of the US Navy? Things like freedom of the seas (which I found out even the Canadians smudge a bit), combating piracy, refugee pickup and drop off, and even stopping slavery fairly often. I'm not saying we're all puppy dogs and roses (we do blow a lot of things - and people - up), but the US Navy does participate in some unequivacably good things. Okee, I'm done. Look at the cool stuff. Thanks for the taxes.

By: lodurr

lodurr — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:38:23 -0800

lupus: overgeneralize much? I just think it's cool that he felt so comfortable using this thread as a platform for condemning the American soul. You go, lupus yonderboy!

By: Gungho

Gungho — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:13:22 -0800

I've ridden the Cat ferry between ME and NS. You must too. It is awesome. The fastest slots on the east coast!

By: aramaic

aramaic — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:24:15 -0800

The real problem here is that the ship is not fully autonomous. I demand a future where robot warships thunder across the oceans seeking sweet cruise-liner flesh.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:42:29 -0800

I want to wakeboard behind it.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:28:47 -0800

Remember about ten years ago, the US Navy had an advanced test warship that was running all its critical systems on Windows NT? And how NT crashed, and the ship had to be towed into dock? Yeah.

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:28:30 -0800

You in the US have by far the largest military force ever assembled in history. lupus . . . you live here too. What's with this "you people" shit?