Mothership concepts?

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Before we got LCS, their were a number of concepts that involved the use of one or more motherships acting as the center for a large number fo smaller, and more expendable combat vessels-- can anyone point to a source for information and images about these earlier concepts?
 
http://navy-matters.beedall.com/fsc-pre2005.htm

Navy Matters has some small but decent images of BMT Defence Services studies.
 
Foudre 1896, was originally a mothership for torpedo boats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_seaplane_carrier_Foudre
 
An old related SPF thread: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,5252.0.html
 
Prior to the Mothership study in the UK, there were several studies in the US on the mothership concept through the 1990's.

Examples include:

LCDR. MICHAEL L. BOSWORTH, USN, AILEEN G. KLEIMAN, & STEVEN C. MATZ, "Multimission Ship Design for an Alternative Fleet Concept", Naval Engineers Journal, May 1991, which featured a large modular mothership based on an internal dock.

CDR. MICHAEL BOSWORTH, USN, SCOTT BLACK & JOHN R. MEYER, "Well Deck Deployable Naval Combatants", NEJ Jan 1994, which looked at different hullforms and roles for the daughter craft.

The Total Ship Systems Engineering course students @ NPS also undertook some studies of mothership concepts, PDFs available here:

http://www.nps.edu/academics/gseas/tsse/subPages/experienceTSSE.html

These projects, although not official studies, are often indicative of "general thinking" and also specific problems of interest to The Navy.

RP1
 
A short paper from 2009 on a combined concept called the Surface Combatant Carrier and The Mobile Combat Ship. By Chris H. Thompson (the main title page is missing, but it looks like an update or spinoff of a paper he did earlier in the year, called the 'Surface Combatant Carrier and the Small Surface Combat Ship: A New Vision for the Future Fleet').
 
Via the U.S. Wing-in-Ground (WIG) studies thread, courtesy of hesham:

index.php


From the Russian website where hesham found this (bing translation):
Very extensive comparative analysis of techno-economic efficiency of the hovercraft, aircraft and èkranoplanov met in 1973, two engineers from American company «Water Research Company "d. Macdonald and r. Operations Masters. As a result of the work they offered to United States NAVY èkranoplana type project "flying wing", featuring a number of original solutions, in particular, side retractable wings and highly developed floats.

High-speed machine had a clear purpose is to serve as a carrier of battle and landing craft with limited range due to low seaworthiness scarce resource power plants and fuel supply. Open radical way enhance the tactical formations as a result mobile lift up to 5000 km.

Design of èkranoplana was designed for movement, clear of the water surface in displacement condition. Three developed in the height of the float were equipped with redanami and played the role of end plates. Flying wing-case with retractable wings, excavated or installed side creating more lift and cruise which a transverse resistance èkranoplana. In the lower part of the body have special niches where housed (suspended) two hydrofoil boats.

Èkranoplana power plant consisted of gas turbine engines, located in pairs on streamlined pylons aft. There were vertical aerodynamic rudders.

To give an idea of scale, the two craft it's shown carrying/deploying in the drawing are Pegasus class hydrofoils (PHM).
 
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/06/us-navy-developing-mothership-drones-coastal-defense/148671/

The U.S. Navy and researchers from Florida Atlantic University are developing robotic boats that can launch aerial and sub drones to protect U.S. coastal waters. “Our focus will be on developing a multi-vehicle system that can safely and reliably navigate coastal waters with a high level of autonomy while performing assigned tasks,” Manhar Dhanak, director of SeaTech, the Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering in FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, said in a press release.
 
Thought this was posted already but I couldn't find it. From January of this year, a Royal Navy/MOD/BAE Systems mothership submarine design concept:
1595107162727.png
The whale shark/manta ray-shaped mothership would be built from super-strong alloys and acrylics, with surfaces which can morph in shape. With hybrid algae-electric cruising power and propulsion technologies including tunnel drives which work similarly to a Dyson bladeless fan, the submarine could travel at unprecedented speeds of up to 150 knots.


Role: Act as a major command and control hub, information collector and disseminator, weapon carrier, and underwater flagship.


Build: Its 3D-printed hull would be a combination of light but strong acrylic materials bonded to super-strong alloys capable of withstanding the extreme pressure of depths of 1000m or more.


Sound: Anechoic coatings, which deaden sound and reduce enemy submarines' sonar returns, would be created with nanometer-thin graphene scales which would be layered to create an outer skin. The scales would be bonded together with a piezoelectric material allowing dynamic control of the scales. This would allow real-time alignment of the scales to reduce drag in transit and absorb sound during silent operations.


Crew: Reduced crew of around 20 people, capable of brain-computer control of the submarine's command system.


Weapons and sensors: Advanced multi-spectral, low power, active and passive sensors moulded into its hull to help hunt for enemy vessels. A recovery bay in the underside would act as a docking station for the transfer of people, weapons payloads and general stores, and weapons bays integrated into the top of the submarine.
 

1617795273934.png
 
One of the stranger Royal Navy 'Future Fleet' (UKNEST Challenge) concepts from back in 2021:
1713192146475.png

1713193489194.png

EDIT: Sorry, the top image is missing part of its bottom, still trying to find a better version of it.
 
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