FREELAND – The Navy’s new X-Craft Sea Fighter hits the water on Wednesday.
Until then, military officials and the boat builders who put the experimental vessel together will be on pins and needles waiting to see how quickly the aluminum catamaran cuts through the waves. Michael V. Martina / The Herald
The ship is expected to be the fastest military vessel in the world, said Matt Nichols, president of Nichols Brothers Boat Builders.
“We’re excited to put it in the water, turn this puppy on and see what it will do,” Nichols said.
A bottle of champagne will have to be broken first, however.
The Sea Fighter will be christened today at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland. U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Secretary of the Navy Gordon England are expected to attend.
The X-Craft will be used to test technologies that will let the Navy develop combat ships for waters near to the shore.
“We’re making history,” said Navy Rear Adm. Jay Cohen, chief of naval research.
The Navy needs a combat ship that can operate in shallow waters, he said, in extreme conditions amid mines and small suicide boats.
A ramp at the rear of the X-Craft will let the ship drop off and pick up small boats filled with teams of SEALs, the Navy’s special operations commandos, or manned and unmanned vehicles, while the ship is moving.
| Facts about the U.S. Navy’s X-Craft:
Top speed: 50 knots, or about 57 mph. Uses: Experimental platform for uses such as anti-submarine work, amphibious landing support, cargo transport, and launch and recovery of underwater vehicles. Fuel: A diesel engine and gas turbine in each hull gives the ship flexibility. Diesel power will be used for long-distance travel, and gas for top speeds. |
The flight deck has room for two H-60 Seahawk helicopters.
Up to 12 interchangeable “mission modules,” standard 20-foot-long containers, can be carried in the vessel’s mission bay. The “plug and play” modules will carry equipment for different jobs, such as anti-submarine warfare, equipment for humanitarian relief efforts, and gear needed to support amphibious assault missions.
“I think the ship speaks for itself. People who see the ship get it, they get what we’re trying to do,” Cohen said.
Rough water won’t slow down the 262-ship.
Nigel Gee, the ship’s designer, said the double-hulled catamaran will be able to cruise quickly in “sea state 4,” the term for a mixed sea with 10-foot-high waves and occasional 20-footers.
“This vessel will keep on trucking at 40 knots through that, and very comfortably,” Gee said. “The vessel will just platform through that. The faster you go, the more comfortable it gets.”
Titan Corp. was the prime contractor for the X-Craft. Cohen said the project has cost $80 million over the past five years.
The Sea Fighter will have a crew of 26 – 16 sailors and 10 Coast Guardsmen – and will test how a Navy ship can be operated with a small crew.
“That’s going to be a very, very important part of the demonstration program, because the largest cost to the U.S. Navy of any ship, over 10 or 20 years, is the manpower,” said Bob Whalen of Titan.
Lt. Cmdr. Brandon Bryan, skipper of the Sea Fighter, said that with such a small crew, the sailors aboard have to be jacks of all trades.
“Everybody’s got to know everybody else’s business,” Bryan said.
The christening doesn’t mean the X-Craft is ready for sea service. The Sea Fighter’s outfitting and sea trials will be done after the vessel arrives in Everett next week.
Although the ship has a range of 4,000 nautical miles, the Sea Fighter isn’t expected to travel long distances. The Navy plans to use the X-Craft’s journey from Everett to its home port in San Diego as a test of how the vessel would fare on a long voyage.
The Navy will officially take possession of the X-Craft on April 30, and it is expected to arrive in San Diego by August.
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