HSV-2 Swift

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Career

Ordered:	October, 2002
Laid down:
Launched:	August 15, 2003
Status:	In service; leased by the United States Navy
Homeport:	Crew Homeports: Naval Station Ingleside, TX and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1,668 tons full, 940 tons standard
Length:	321.5 feet (98 meters)
Beam:	88.6 feet (27 meters)
Draught:	11.15 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion:	Caterpillar 3618 marine Diesel engines
Speed:	Max: 53+ miles per hour (85+ kilometers per hour/45+ knots) Operating: 34+ miles per hours (55+ kilometers per hour/30+ knots)
Range:	4,000+ miles (6,500 kilometers/3,500+ nautical miles)
Capacity:	Approximately 605 tons (615 metric tons); approximately 28,740 sq. ft. (2,670 square meters) cargo deck
Complement:	Approximately 42; berthing for 107 with additional temporary berthing for 87 when seating is converted
Armament:	MK 96 w 25mm/40mm Stabilized Gun; MK 45 Snake Eyes with MK 19 Grenade Machine Gun

HSV-2 Swift is a non-commissioned catamaran leased by the United States Navy as a mine countermeasures and sea basing test platform, homeported at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas. The HSV stands for "High Speed Vessel."

The ship was constructed by the Australian shipbuilder Incat in Hobart, Tasmania and is leased to the U.S. Navy through Bollinger/Incat of Lockport, Louisiana. It is the second catamaran the Navy has leased to test new technologies and concepts associated with the Chief of Naval Operations's "Seapower 21" plan. The contract value for the first year is $21.7 million. The current lease can go out to four years 11 months if all options are exercised.

It is a wave-piercing, aluminum-hulled, commercial catamaran with military enhancements, such as a helicopter flight deck, strengthened vehicle deck, small boat and unmanned vehicle launch and recovery capability, and an enhanced communications suite. It features a new, modular design, which will allow the ship to be refitted to support any mission without requiring long shipyard periods. Its control system, "Combatss", was first used aboard the Sea Shadow experimental ship, and allowed the Navy to remotely control a ship more than 3,000 miles (5,600 km) from shore. Users interface with Combatss using a Mozilla browser.

In the autumn of 2003, while operating with the Fifth Fleet, Swift completed the fastest-ever transit of the northern Great Barrier Reef from Cairns to Booby Island, Australia, averaging slightly over 39 knots (72 km/h). During flight deck certifications, Swift's crew conducted aircraft recovery while making 43 knots (80 km/h) during one recovery and had 66 knots (122 km/h) apparent winds during another recovery.

In early 2004 Swift returned from the West African Training Cruise-04, an exercise designed to enhance security cooperation between the United States and participating West African nations.

The first ship of this class to be used by the Navy, HSV-1 Joint Venture, proved its military mettle during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a forward staging platform for Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorism and SEAL (SEa, Air, Land) teams in the shallow waters of Umm Qasr, Iraq. The Navy hopes to build upon lessons learned from Swift and its predecessor, and eventually use the information to create a new class of Littoral combat ships.

While from the front the vessels appear to look like a trimaran, the centre hull does not rest in the water and is not used for buoyancy. It is used to lower the t-foil into the water, improving the ride.

Swift is the fourth Incat-built high-speed wave piercing catamaran to enter military service, following behind HMAS Jervis Bay, U.S. Army Vessel (USAV) Theater Support Vessel (TSV) 1X Spearhead and Joint Venture.

SWIFT recently was tapped to provide logistical assistance during the Tsunami Relief Effort in North Sumatra. SWIFT proved its capabilities and flexibility in numerous ways, giving the U.S. Navy a new view. The SWIFT Gold Crew, based at Little Creek Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia, prepared for the new and sudden change of orders in less than one week's time. The two crews performed the fastest crew swap ever in Pearl Harbor, with Gold crew relieving Blue crew in less than eight hours. Once on station, SWIFT embarked her first ever helicopter detachment, providing a base of operations for the two helicopters and their crew for 30 consecutive days at sea. SWIFT Gold crew also conducted many firsts for the unique vessel, including the 30 straight days at sea, supporting a helicopter detachment and its support crew for 30 days with high tempo flight operations as well as conducting two underway replenishments at sea. Upon detaching from the relief effort, Gold crew then took SWIFT through her first transit of the Suez Canal. The Gold crew was also the crew responsible for many other firsts for the SWIFT, including the first Atlantic crossing, first transit through the Panama Canal, and first Pacific crossing. The SWIFT was also the first U.S. Naval ship to be certified for 100% electronic navigation, removing the centuries old requirement for ships to carry a full complement of navigation charts. SWIFT is used a lot for experimental equipment, with the crews reporting back on the effectiveness of the new equipment.

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, HSV-2 Swift was used to transport Humanitarian Assistance Materials from Cyprus to Beirut.

HSV-2 Swift navigates the waters off the coast of Southern Iraq	HSV-2 Swift in Limassol Port in July 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict	HSV-2 Swift in Limassol Port	Rear view of HSV-2 Swift while in Limassol Port
HSV-2 Swift navigates through Yokosuka Bay in Yokosuka, Japan