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Naval
Forces News - USA |
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US
Navy and US Marine Corps testing their latest amphibious equipment during
RIMPAC 2014 |
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Held every two years by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and executed
by Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet (C3F), RIMPAC is a multinational maritime
exercise that takes place in and around the Hawaiian Islands. This year's
RIMPAC exercise is the occasion for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps
to put to the test two of their latest amphibious systems: the Mobile
Landing Platform (MLP) and the Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector
(UHAC). |
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The Military Sealift Command mobile landing ship (Montford Point class)
are designed to support U.S. Navy's LCACs during amphibious operations
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MLP is a highly flexible platform that may be used across a broad range
of military operations, supporting and executing a variety of missions
including humanitarian support and sustainment of traditional military
missions. The ship is able to easily transfer personnel and vehicles
from other vessels such as the large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off
ships (LMSRs) onto landing craft air cushioned (LCAC) vehicles and transport
them ashore. The platform's open, reconfigurable mission deck will serve
as an important flexible and transformational asset to the Navy as it
can be reconfigured to support a wide variety of future operations.
The MLP's leverage float-on/ float-off technology and a reconfigurable
mission deck to maximize their capability. Montford Point's Core Capability
Set includes modules for a vehicle staging area, a sideport ramp, large
mooring fenders and up to three LCAC vessel lanes. These capabilities
enable large-scale logistics movements including the transfer of personnel,
vehicles from other vessels such as the large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off
ships (LMSRs) and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) onto LCACs for
transport ashore. |
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USMC video by MSgt Kyle Olson and GySgt Jeremy Vought |
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The Ultra
Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector (UHAC) begins to rotate on the beach,
July 9, at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows on Oahu, Hawaii during
a Marine Corps Advanced Warfighting Experiment. The AWE is the culmination
of a decade of progressive experimentation conducted by the Marine Corps
Warfighting Lab (MCWL) where they are testing potential future technologies,
solutions and concepts to future Marine Air Ground Task Force challenges.
The AWE is taking part during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise
2014. Lt. Col. Don Gordon, the current technology officer at MCWL, said
the UHAC is one of those experimental technologies that displays a possible
capability of being able to insert Marines in areas where current technology
wouldn’t be able to insert them based on current systems that
are fielded. The UHAC prototype is a ship-to-shore connector and is
half the size of the intended machine. Currently, the UHAC travels at
four knots using a track system with floatation-like pads that propels
itself through different terrain. |
