General Dynamics NASSCO AFSB

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Donald McKelvy
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Model and artist's impressions of General Dynamics NASSCO is showing a model of its Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB) ship on display at the Navy League’s 2014 Sea-Air-Space Exposition.

The ship is designed to facilitate a wide variety of future mission sets in support of special operations. An accommodation block is located forward for up to 250 personnel for the flight crew or other mission personnel such as Navy Seals or Marines. This space also features a hangar capable of fitting two Sikorsky MH-53 helicopters plus aviation maintenance and mission specific spaces. AFSB will have an endurance of over 9,500 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots. NASSCO believes that the Navy will order a study on the ability of the AFSB to accommodate the Bell Boeing MV-22.

Source:
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1731
 

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Looks like a kind of containerised conversion of a standard freighter/supply ship, doesn't it ?
 
It's an adapted tanker design with most of the hull between bow and superstructure cut away. Then ballast tanks were added to enable it to be partially submerged in a controlled fashion. The version without the added flight deck comes at approx half a billion dollars, which is considerably more than a clean sheet design for a commercial semisubmersible of similar size, or indeed a much bigger one.
 
Arjen said:
It's an adapted tanker design with most of the hull between bow and superstructure cut away. Then ballast tanks were added to enable it to be partially submerged in a controlled fashion. The version without the added flight deck comes at approx half a billion dollars, which is considerably more than a clean sheet design for a commercial semisubmersible of similar size, or indeed a much bigger one.

Yep, Dockwise Vanguard cost approximately 240 million US dollars.

http://www.dockwise.com/page/fleet/vanguard.html

Though it did skimp a bit on superstructure and hull. :)
 
Dockwise doesn't build in a US yard with Navy oversight. And the $500m figure includes the cost of the "Baseline" module consisting of transfer systems and LCAC "sockets."
 
The transfer system amounts to a ramp that can be used up to sea state 3.
Topic on Montford Point class here:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,14426.msg143570.html#msg143570
 
If the upper superstructure overhang wasn't so serious, the entire thing could have been built a a module that could be rolled off or potentially barged off by the original semisub hull. Which makes the original hullform something of a open seaframe design.
 
ouroboros said:
If the upper superstructure overhang wasn't so serious, the entire thing could have been built a a module that could be rolled off or potentially barged off by the original semisub hull. Which makes the original hullform something of a open seaframe design.

One of the proposals for the RN OMAR was a barge module that was carried by a standard Flo-Flo, although the pictures of it showed the type of Flo-Flo being used here rather than one wity an open stern.
 

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