T-Craft

These images have been around a few years:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/hlcac.htm

 

The current LCAC craft suffer from what you would expect from an aluminum ACV in terms of massive corrosion issues and also from sand erosion damage, etc. Much of the focus on the replacement for LCAC is on maximizing the use of composites wherever feasible and some other design improvements to reduce the maintenance headaches on what has otherwise been a superb vehicle in service to date.

Another objective is to improve the payload capacity and/or range. However, the increases they are looking for are not ground-shaking or far reaching and are not major drivers for the improved design..the current craft do the job that they were built for.

 

That is a variant (or digression) from JMAC..or at least it is depending on who you talk to. The so-called heavy lift variant is bigger..much bigger..than the current LCAC. The other is roughly the same size. Jury is still out on 'one or both'....especially with T-craft in the proposed mix.

Note that T-craft self-deploys over long range (using its payload capacity for transit fuel). Not so for JMAC variants..any of them. They will always be carried to where they are needed. The requirements for T-craft and JMAC (or LCAC) do not overlap in many areas. And The T-craft will be very slow and not nearly as 'terrain capable' as the LCAC when it is in its ACV mode of operation.

 

A boat (mono-cat-tri) with good heavy seas ability which can covert into a hovercraft for speed in good weather or to go ashore would make more sense to me. This is what I'm working on with my design/model.

Since I'm not answering any specification or specific mission requirement, I have the liberty of fooling around with it in a unique way.

I can see the T-Craft being scaled down for up river missions, but it might be better off with tank tracks and a tree cutter on the bow than a hovercraft skirt.

EDIT: I came up with my ideas by myself, but afterwords discovered I was not alone or first with this idea.

http://www.couplandbell.com/licensing.htm


Patent:
Inventors:
Evans, Mark Justin (Kenilworth, GB)
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20050016436.html

 

T-Craft is most of that..but hard to be both and go fast in both modes. The speed requirement and long-range and sea-capable requirements are what drove it to be 'mostly' an SES, and otherwise a 'slow' ACV. It has to meet 3 basic operating mode requirements:

2500 nm range in SES mode at transit speed (18 -22 knots)

500 nm range in SES mode at 45 knots

?nm in hovercraft mode at whatever knots (just has to be able to git that done really..the conops are still under development)

Tough combination of challenges. Only an SES can achieve 45 knots with rational isntalled power..and is sorta 'part-way there' as an ACV. Which is why only dual-mode SES/ACV concepts survived in to this current round of development that just licked off.

 

Yes, the T-Craft you have and the other similar proposals (SES) answer the requirements better than anything else. Going fast in heavy seas is difficult for any type of craft, I would not try it in a planing hull, hydrofoil or hovercraft.

 

http://www.defense-update.com/events/2007/summary/auvsi07_6monster.htm#more

 

I don't read Russian, if you can then tell me what it says please.

http://www.hrvatski-vojnik.hr/hrvatski-vojnik/1562007/desantni.asp

 

The web page is in Croatian, Here is a link to a incomprehensible translation
http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTr...i-vojnik/1562007/desantni.asp&from=cro&to=eng

 

Thanks.........and I'm 1/4 Croatian - who knew?

 

FYI: Someone has taken the name T-Craft.

http://www.tcraft.co.za/

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
ONR Phase II T-Craft Contracts Issued
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008/05/onr-phase-ii-t-craft-contracts-issued.html

(see bottom image or click link and then image)

May 5, 2008
ONR awards $10.1 million T-Craft design contract
http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMVII/2008may00053.html

 

http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html


http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html



Posted by Paul McLeary at 6/10/2008 9:45 AM CDT
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blog...79a7Post:f6545a80-1045-4b9a-9603-a79354c8a4e2

http://www.engin.umich.edu/dept/name/facilities/mhl/projects/onr_tcraft.html

 

Published: Jul 23, 2008
http://www.military-logistics-forum.com/ar....cfm?DocID=2535

 

Recent updates:
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008/01/onrs-latest-high-speed-vessel.html

 

Article in Macromedia (shows test model photo)
http://publishing.yudu.com/Ab1hd/WTJan08/resources/17.htm?skipFlashCheck=true