The Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), also known as the LCAC 100 class, is a system proposed by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a replacement for the

Landing Craft Air Cushion The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from sh ...

(LCAC). It will offer an increased capacity to cope with the growing weight of equipment used by the United States Army and Marine Corps. , the program is forecast to cost a total of US$4.054B for 73 hovercraft.

History

Several proposals have been made to replace the LCAC. In 2003, the Navy Transformation Roadmap set out plans to start R&D on a "Heavy Lift LCAC" project in 2005, but this was superseded by the LCAC(X) "LCAC Replacement Tactical Assault Connector". In August 2010, the US Navy issued a Request For Proposals for a contract to design and build 72 SSCs. The contract would be worth up to US$4 billion. A contract for detailed design work and construction of the first test and training craft, was expected to be awarded in 2011.

Proposals

* A team comprising Marinette Marine,

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

, and

Griffon Hoverwork Griffon Hoverwork Ltd (GHL) is a British hovercraft designer and manufacturer. It was originally founded as Griffon Hovercraft Ltd in 1976, based in Southampton. The firm set about the development of its own product range, launching its first ...

* A team comprising

Textron Marine & Land Systems Textron Marine & Land Systems, formerly Cadillac Gage, is an American military contractor that manufactures armored vehicles, turrets, advanced marine craft, surface effects ships, and other weapon systems. It is owned by Textron, and was formed ...

, Alcoa Defense, and

L-3 Communications L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training d ...

* VT Halter On July 6, 2012, the US Navy awarded Textron, Inc of New Orleans, LA a $212.7M fixed-priced incentive-fee contract for the detail design and construction of a Ship-to-Shore Connector test and training craft. The contract also includes the option for the production of eight additional craft; this option would increase total value of the contract to $570.4M. Textron began fabrication of the first nine SSCs in mid-November 2014. These were to be delivered in 2017 and achieve initial operating capability (IOC) in 2020. Textron can produce as many as 12 SSCs per year. The first SSC was delivered on 6 February 2020.

Design

Although the design will be broadly similar to the LCAC, there will be several significant differences: *Two-person

Fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control ...

cockpit with joystick controls *More powerful, more efficient engines *Extensive use of composites and aluminum alloys for corrosion resistance *Advanced skirt instead of a deep skirt for less drag and reduced craft weight The four Rolls-Royce MT7 gas turbines that will be used to power each Ship-to-Shore Connector are derivatives modelled after the design of the

Rolls-Royce T406 The Rolls-Royce T406 (company designation AE 1107) is a turboshaft engine that powers the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The engine delivers 6,000 shp (4,470 kW). Development In 1982, Detroit Diesel Allison (DDA) prepared a new e ...

used in the

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventio ...

. The cores of the two engines types are identical, which should provide some relief in spare parts storage to those ships that will operate both the (tiltrotor) aircraft and the hovercraft. Top speed will be . A simpler and more efficient drivetrain using one gearbox is on each side for fewer parts, less maintenance and higher reliability. The SSC has a designed lifetime of 30 years. The tenth SSC to be delivered will have the capability to launch vehicles into the water rather than travel to the beach. That ability will then be retrofitted to the previous nine vessels.Future Marine Corps Missions Depend on New Ship-To-Shore Connectors
- Nationaldefensemagazine.org, 16 July 2014

References

External links

Texron Systems Ship-to-Shore Connector page

US Navy presentation on the SSC project

Marinette Marine/Boeing/Griffon team website

Textron/Alcoa/L3 SSC team website

An earlier Analysis of Alternatives by the US Navy
{{Textron Military hovercraft Landing craft of the United States Navy Textron United States Navy

History

Proposals

Design

See also

References

External links