JHSV Program Design Winners

The JHSV program is an effort between the U.S. Army and the Navy to acquire vessels for fast intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment. The JHSV program combines the Army's Theater Support Vessel (TSV) program with the Navy and Marine Corps High Speed Connector (HSC). The Navy's Program Executive Office, Ships is conducting acquisition for both the Army and Navy, but each service will fund its own ships. After delivery, Below is a closer look at the three designs chosen for the current phase. One of the following designs will be selected by the Navy for contract in the 4th Quarter of FY08.

Austal USA Press Release

Austal is pleased to announce the award of a Preliminary Design Contract for the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) programme for the US Navy and Army. The JHSV requirements and concept of operations are similar to those of the Austal built “WestPac Express”, which has been successfully serving the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan for more than 6 years.

Executive Chairman, John Rothwell commented on the achievement, “As one of three companies down-selected for the Preliminary Design Contract, Austal has a strong chance of advancing to final selection given its large skilled workforce and world class facilities in Mobile, Alabama.”

At the conclusion of the six-month JHSV Preliminary Design Contract, Austal will submit a proposal for the Detailed Design and Construction Contract. This contract will include the award of a construction contract for the first ship and options for a further seven ships set to be awarded between US FY09 and FY12.

If successful, the JHSV programme will be supported by the existing Austal labour force and facilities, and with the current facility expansion underway at Austal will allow the construction of a combination of JHSV and LCS platforms concurrently.

Austal USA CEO, Bob Browning said, "The JHSV design is right in the middle of the Austal breadth of experience. We are the only shipyard in the United States to have built a high speed aluminium ship larger than 100 metres in length, and therefore feel justifiably confident that Austal is best placed to deliver a low risk JHSV platform to the US Army and Navy."

Incat Press Release

Incat Tasmania Pty Ltd and Revolution Design Pty Ltd are pleased to announce they have been awarded one of three US multi-million dollar design contracts by the US Department of Defense.

The Tasmanian based companies are part of an international consortium responding to the United States Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition program for the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV). The JHSV program brings together United States Navy, Army, Marines, and SOCOM to pursue a multi-use platform.

The consortium is led by Incat's United States partner, Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., and includes Australia's Incat and Revolution Design, Incat Chairman Robert Clifford explained.

"As one of three companies chosen for the Preliminary Design Contract, the Incat consortium is well placed to proceed to the next build contract phase thanks to its vast and successful experience providing three vessels for intensive U.S. military service," Mr Clifford said.

The Australian Incat-built High Speed Vessels, HSV-X1 Joint Venture, TSV-1X Spearhead and HSV-2 Swift, have already been employed by the DoD for experimentation and demonstration of high speed vessel technologies as well as for logistics support. These craft have been used to support operations in the Global War on Terrorism and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. They have been deployed to the Horn of Africa, Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia.

Additionally, HSV-2 Swift supported relief operations in Indonesia and in the GulfCoast region following hurricane Katrina. In both cases, Swift's high speed and shallow draught combined to make it an ideal platform for the delivery of relief supplies and support of other platforms operating in the area. During operations following Katrina, Swift was able to access ports inaccessible to other ships in the logistics force, and therefore played a critical role in the early delivery of supplies.

The Australian Navy has also experienced the benefits of Tasmanian-designed vessels, operating the Incat 86 metre WavePiercingCatamaranHMASJervisBay during the East Timor crisis.

The JHSV is a new generation, multi-use platform capable of transporting troops and their equipment, supporting humanitarian relief efforts, the ability to operate in shallow waters and can reach speed in access of 35 knots fully loaded.

The Incat 112 metre, which forms the base of the consortium's submission, is the largest catamaran ever built in Australia. Already proven in commercial service it provides unparalled seakeeping and comfort even on rough open sea routes. Power is supplied by four diesel engines, each rated 9000 kW at 1000 rpm and consuming <190g/kwh.

General Dynamics Press Release (Bath Iron Works - Rolls-Royce)

The U.S. Navy has awarded Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), a $3 million contract to develop a preliminary design for the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) Program. Work to be performed during the next six months by Bath Iron Works and its teammate Rolls-Royce includes the functional definition of the ship structure, systems and general arrangements of ship spaces.

The JHSV program is an effort between the U.S. Army and the Navy to acquire vessels for fast intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles and equipment.

The ship concept proposed by Bath Iron Works and Rolls-Royce is based on a Rolls-Royce design for a roll-on/roll-off passenger vessel. The steel monohull design features a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion plant, water jets, self sustaining roll-on/roll-off and load-on/load-off capabilities, a large cargo area and a flight deck for helicopter operations.

Bath Iron Works President Dugan Shipway said, “We are extremely pleased that the Navy has selected the BIW/Rolls-Royce Team to further develop our JHSV concept. We have a strong relationship with the Rolls-Royce family that extends back to the very beginning of the DDG 51 program. This award allows us to bring the experience and success we have shared in the course of building 29 Aegis destroyers into this very important program. We’re ready to get to work on more fully developing our concept and we’re confident that we have an excellent solution for the needs of the Army and the Navy.”

Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, is a leader in the design and construction of surface combatants for the United States Navy and is the lead designer and builder of the Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class of AEGIS destroyers. The company employs approximately 5,800 people. General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 83,500 people worldwide and reported 2007 revenues of $27.2 billion.

Rolls-Royce, a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy. Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and energy customers in 120 countries.

We don't have a preference in this competition, but we do observe all three designs are basically evolutions of existing designs. In that regard, we have a high degree of confidence of the program and process to date, and will observe to see if this program experiences the cost growth we have observed in other shipbuilding programs. Note, the Army and Navy may choose different designs, so more than one may ultimately be chosen in the long run.