JHSV: Fast Ship

You might imagine that a ship that’s 103-m long and has a 28.5-m beam, a ship that is capable of handling a 635-metric ton payload would not exactly be, well, fast. And ordinarily, you’d be right.

But the Austal JHSV 1, the Spearhead, which is presently being produced for the U.S. Department of Defense by Austal USA (austal.com) in its Module Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, Alabama, with delivery scheduled for December 2011, is no ordinary ship. This aluminum catamaran designed for troop transport is capable of a top speed of 43 knots without payload, and an average speed of 35 knots (that’s approximately 49.5 and 40 mph, respectively). It has a range of 1,200 nautical miles at 35 knots.

“JHSV” stands for “Joint High Speed Vessel,” with the jointness relating to the use of the ship by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy.

The ship features berthing for 150 troops and “airline-style seating” for 312 troops. The seating pitch is 5.25-ft, which is business class. Given that this is going to be used by military personnel, however, who have one heck of a lot more gear than any so-called “road warrior,” this space is no luxury. It is also capable of handling a helicopter on deck. There is an articulated slewing stern ram and a telescoping boom crane to facilitate loading. The ramp is capable of accommodating Abrams tanks.

The ship is powered by four 20V 8000 M71L engines from MTU (mtu-online.com), each capable of producing 9.1-MW. The total displacement of each engine: 347.4 liters, or 21,200-in.3.

The JHSV has a shallow draft—3.83 m—which means that it will be capable of providing excellent theater port access.