HSV-2 Swift

History

The U.S. Navy has a "blue water advantage" of support and warships over all navies in the world. In recent years, the vision has shifted to smaller frigates and coasters, designed with multi-mission capabilities for blue water operations while being able to venture into "brown water" closer to shore.

One such vessel is the HSV-2 Swift, a high-speed, carrier catamaran owned by Sealift, Incorporated and leased to the U.S. Naval Sealift Command. The vessel was leased to the U.S. Navy as a test vessel to study possible future coastal vessel designs and capabilities.

The Swift was originally built with a number of different design features before meeting the requirements specified by the US Navy - which ultimately reduced the design, development and acquisition costs for the US Navy to commission the vessel from the start. Her catamaran aluminum hull sucks in only 11 feet of water, allowing her to venture close to shore, even into rivers and estuaries, while still being able to navigate deep blue waters. Originally designed as a car ferry with a length of 331.4 feet (101.2 m) and a beam width of 87.5 feet (26.7 m), the Swift requires minimal modifications for military use by increasing vehicle deck space for military-grade vehicle records, tapes. The vessel is fast, with a top speed of 45 knots and a cruising speed of 30 knots, while being powered by 4 Caterpillar 3618 marine diesel engines with a combined power of 38,600 hp.

The Swift has no traditional propellers or shafts, as propulsion is achieved through 4 Wartsilia LIPS LJ120E water jets. The boat's propulsion system has many automated features, including a docking system that allows the boat to dock without the use of a tugboat, even in strong winds of 49 knots or less.

The large internal fuel tank gave her a range of 4,500 nautical miles.

Swift underwent a 12-month overhaul to retool her military focus to Mine Warfare Command and a Navy Expeditionary Role Support Ship (MCS). A stern loading ramp was installed to allow vehicles to enter the boat (accommodation even supports M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks).

Added launch zones for small boats, mine-hunting ROVs, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). A helicopter flight deck was built on the main rear deck to support 2 x Sikorsky MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters.

Aluminum flight decks do not require anti-skid paint, but use a sandblasted finish that eliminates most of the maintenance required when using paint. Additional airline seats have been added to the passenger area for up to 250 combat troops. The Standard Crew consists of 35 U.S.

Navy employees and 17 contract seafarers responsible for cargo handling and normal ship duties. To increase possible mission requirements, 107 additional berths were added, with space for a temporary increase of 87 berths when seating for 250 passengers was further modified.

The Swift's cargo and vehicle deck is 28,740 square feet and can accommodate up to 605 tons of cargo or a range of vehicles as needed.

The HSV-2 Swift is essentially a civilian vehicle equipped with a standard HF/UHF/VHF communications suite. Naturally, when Swift turned into her military camouflage, the U.S. Navy outfitted her with satellite communications equipment, dubbed SATCOM. The Navy requires military-grade GPS navigation to support a variety of military missions. A new, state-of-the-art, highly automated navigation system upgrade allowed Swift to ditch paper navigation charts and reduce her crew requirements, allowing her to command a crew of 42.

Interestingly, the Swift is currently the only U.S. Navy ship certified to rely solely on electronic navigation.

The ship's computer can track 100 ship contacts and display speed and heading relative to Swift's position on an easy-to-read computer screen (the age of the "sextant" - a basic method used to determine the angle between the horizon and a celestial body surveying tools) . - sure to come to an end; the US Naval Academy no longer requires cadets to be certified in the use of a sextant to add sailing certification when they earn a master's degree in captain).

The weapons Swift carried were primarily defensive. The MH-60S Seahawk helicopter is designed to perform vertical resupply (VERTREP) and search and rescue (SAR) missions. They can be used to lay mines and support airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) operations. The Swift is equipped with a 25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun that fires between 200 and 500 rounds per minute.

The projectile of the installed 40mm Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher, together with a single 40mm Mk 45 "Snake Eye" grenade launcher, can penetrate the skin of most enemy infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. The 40mm grenade itself is very effective against enemy infantry build-ups using high explosive or fragmentation payloads.

Submarines have used two crews for many years, and the experimental HSV-2 Swift followed with a 2 x 40 crew as the only USN surface ship with two separate mission-type crews. The Naval Expeditionary Mission allows the transportation of 250 Marines, their mission equipment and vehicles, and is assigned to the "Golden" crew at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia. The mission focused on mine warfare training, with the "Blue" crew relocating home from Ingleside, Texas. The vessel's two CONMAR crew rotate approximately every 90 days, allowing the vessel to operate for up to 11 months of the calendar year.

With access to medical personnel and equipment, she can also be called upon to support humanitarian operations.

After refit, Swift entered service with the fifth US Navy fleet in Australian waters in 2003. The Navy tested the ship's handling, and she went on to set speed trials records - averaging over 39 knots (72 km/h).

Standard certification tests for launching and recovering her helicopter from her new flight deck proved impressive, as she could recover the helicopter at speeds of up to 66 knots (122 km/h), an obvious one if a quick escape was required Advantage. She was quickly deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and was positioned as a Forward Operating Base (FoB) for Navy and SEAL forces in Iraqi waters (the Navy has begun using the converted USS Ponce in the same role ( 2012)).

In January 2004, Swift was assigned to represent the US Navy on West Africa Training Cruise 04 (WATC04). Swift took 100 U.S. Marines and 50 U.S. Navy sailors aboard for a training exercise. The annual gathering has been a major Navy event for more than 30 years, promoting teamwork between the U.S.

Navy and participating West African nations. The African countries included in WATC are Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Morocco. Swift serves as an operating base, which includes river combat exercises (using small boats) and live-fire training exercises.

Swift then sailed into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on July 5, 2004, for naval exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). Forty ships, seven submarines, 100 aircraft and 18,000 personnel gathered at Pearl Harbor, representing the United States, Britain, Australia, South Korea, Chile, Canada and Japan. The Swift was the focus of the event for its innovative design and performance.

The main focus of HSV's time at RIMPAC was to test the ship's ability to conduct minesweeping, as well as to work with allied ships through coordinated missions.

The tsunami natural disaster that hit Indonesia and North Sumatra in December 2004 encouraged international relief efforts. The Swift was dispatched to international organizations and local governments to provide logistical support.

Their speed was successfully used to deliver food and medical supplies to survivors.

The struggle between Israelis and Palestinians is one of the most explosive of all conflicts in the world. In 2006, Israel and Lebanon were at war, and the US shipped HSV-2 Swift along with medicine and food to Cyprus and Beirut. She was standing at sea unloading supplies with a helicopter because the ship could be threatened.

The helicopter took the wounded back to the makeshift hospital for treatment.

Over the next six years, Swift continued to test her skills at home and abroad (the latter when needed). Swift has since called at ports across Africa and has several future stops as part of the African Partnership Station (APS) West. The United States is a partner of the International Security Cooperation Initiative APS. Swift is a major player in integrating global naval joint ventures focused on individual training of mutual interest to improve maritime security in Africa.

The HSV-2 Swift is a key strength of APS as it continues extended testing of its experimental tasks and designs.

The "HSV" in the HSV-2 designation stands for "High Speed ??Vessel". The "2" marks that it is the second ship of this type after the HSV-X1 "joint venture". Another relevant experimental vessel in the group is the TSV-X1 "Pioneer".

In 2013, HSV-2 left USMC service. She then registered with Sealift, Incorporated and served in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. She is reported to have now (2017) leased from the United Arab Emirates for Civilian Ocean Colors.

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