The proposed concept leverages both the beam and length of Navy amphibious ships with a greater cargo capacity than the LCU-1600, and leverages Surface Effect Ship (SES) technology to improve the crafts speed in transit. The combination of greater capacity and higher-speed allows the number of LCUs to be decreased while maintaining existing off-load capacity. The proposed SES landing craft (LCU-SES) would have a cargo capacity of 210 LT. The proposed LCU-SES will have an average transit speed of 20 knots. Thus one LCU-SES would be able to replace three LCU-1600s without reducing cargo lift capacity. The total installed power of the proposed LCU-SES is of a magnitude similar to that used by the three legacy displacement landing craft it is replacing. Therefore, on a fleet wide basis, the fuel consumption of the LCU-SES would be comparable to the LCU-1600, but the crew costs would be reduced dramatically. The LCU-SES will be simple to construct with large areas of flat plate and using only rolled plate where curvature is needed, which will reduce construction costs further reducing total ownership costs.
Benefit: The primary utilization of this design will be as replacement for the LCU and other landing craft. There exists great need for the Navy to maintain the capability of deploying vehicles directly from ships to the beachhead, and it is clear that this need is growing as we engage in littoral combat against insurgent forces. Also, these craft will be utilized for a variety of humanitarian and noncombatant missions as we continue to project our presence around the globe. This technology can be adapted to use by other institutions as well. The Department of Interior can use these vessels to access remote inland waterways of the U.S. in order to deliver supplies, perform research and other tasks that require moving rolling cargo in shallow water.
Keywords: Ship to Shore Connector, Ship to Shore Connector, Landing Craft, High Speed, surface effect ship, SES
