It promises to be the world’s fastest ship.
The futuristic X-Craft now under construction at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders Inc. on Whidbey Island is a $59.9 million, 265-foot, experimental ship for the U.S. Navy designed to reach speeds of almost 60 mph when fully loaded.
The all-aluminum X-Craft’s sleek, shallow-draft design is an advanced catamaran, part of the Navy’s strategy to take better control of near-shore conflicts, according to Rear Admiral Jay Cohen of the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Va.
"It’s a militarized container ship for a variety of naval missions," Cohen said.
Intended as an experimental platform or seaframe, the X-Craft will allow the Navy to design and test interchangeable systems, each intended for specific uses, such as anti-submarine work, amphibious landing support, cargo transport and launch and recovery of surface and underwater vehicles. The concept is similar to a commercial truck that can carry containers, logs or liquids, depending on what’s attached to it.
The nature of contemporary military conflicts, Cohen said, demand speed, stealth and flexibility, all built into the ship taking shape at the Nichols yard in Freeland.
Craft currently used in shore-area conflicts are small and slow, explained Cohen. They’re typically escorted to hot spots or transported on large ships because of their limited range and their inability to operate in high seas.
The X-Craft has neither of these limitations. With a diesel engine and gas turbine in each hull, it will be capable of cross-ocean travel and has a wing between the two polymer-coated hulls that will keep it stable in rough seas and lift the boat, reducing drag.
Nichols CEO, Matt Nichols, said that the ship will use diesel power for long-distance travel and cost savings, then switch to gas for top speed and combat situations. It features helicopter landing pads and an offset boathouse that could accommodate drone takeoffs.
For example, Nichols said, the X-Craft could be configured as a transport vessel that would allow a mother ship to stand 150 miles offshore, a safe distance from enemy fire. The highly maneuverable, very fast X-Craft would move supplies close to shore where helicopters, which have a range of about 150 miles, would fly cargo to troops located inland.
Built under a subcontract from Titan Corporation, a defense contractor, the X-Craft is Nichols’s first military contract. Titan Corporation will do further outfitting, said Wil Williams, Titan spokesperson.
Sue Ellen White is a student in the University of Washington School of Communications News Laboratory.
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