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US Marines Demonstrate Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector Prototype
Zothecula writes In a recent demonstration carried out during RIMPAC 2014, the US Marines displayed and tested a fully-functional, half-scale prototype of its new amphibious transport vehicle. The proposed full-size version of the Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connecter (UHAC) is designed to power across the water with a payload of nearly 200 tons at up to 20 knots and be capable of driving up on to the shore and over the top of obstructions up to 10ft high.
Don't know why but I kind of feel like I have seen something like this before.... The ww2 landing vehicle tracked (LVT) looked very similar to this, just on a much smaller scale.
Some of the variants even used paddled tracks like this. oblig wiki link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
This would have over three times the capacity of the LCAC. I'm not sure what they're planning to haul on it (3 tanks, maybe?). There certainly is construction equipment that weights 200 tons, or industrial equipment.
This has three times the capacity of the LCAC but takes up the same amount of space in an Amphibious Assault Carrier. So even though it is half the speed, it will be able to transfer equipment to shore at a 50% greater rate than LCAC.
It's mainly designed to carry huge budgets.
It looks pretty much like a tank on flip-flops.
That would be weird... the Romans named the area Palestine when the Jews were living there. Why would anyone want to give the land to Arabs?
No, the thing it caries from the ship, through the surf zone, over sand and onto hard ground that has the killing power are the U.S. Marines.
Give Amerikka back to the large mammal species that the Native Americans drove into extinction (there were horses on North America, and giant sloths the size of bears, and many other large mammals) shortly after they arrived here over the Bering Straight.
The Indians didn't have horses again to ride until the Europeans broght them over and showed the noble wise red men how to ride, not eat, them.
At 200 Tons capacity, it could carry three.
due to comment scores I could see your comment but not the parent and my response was "What, Americans?"
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
the land-sea capability of the UHAC is provided buy a set of tracks – similar to a tank – fitted with captured-air foam cells that provide buoyancy, act as paddles when in the water, and behave as track-driven pads when on the land
The first thing that came to mind was bubble-wrap.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
No one. Read about the LCACs; they are maintenance beasts and the Marines are reducing their number by half. This thing looks a bit maintenance heavy too, but with 3X the carrying capacity it's still a cost savings in terms of cost/ton carried.
These are used not just to invade, but on humanitarian missions as well. They're one of the few craft that can land on a ravaged or destroyed or undeveloped coastline, and with a 200 ton carrying capacity they can carry some seriously heavy construction equipment. That allows the marines to drop in engineers that can build up a temporary dock in a ravaged place like during the 2004 Tsunami or the Haiti earthquake, allowing for cargo ships to land with relief supplies and medical personnel.
The military's primary mission is to project the nation's will through force when called to do so, but that is not their only mission. They are a well equipped, well disciplined, highly trained force, which makes them the best first responders in all sorts of crises.
200 tons of marines.
Each marine carries between 97 and 135 lbs of equipmen so let's just say an average of 116 pounds. Let's say the average marine weighs 181 (I took 6'2" as the height marker and average weight between max and minimum weight for that height by their own charts). So one marine puts a load of 297 pounds. This monster is capable of carrying 1346 combat geared marines (space not-withstanding). That about an entire marine brigade.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
A transport configured LCAC can carry 180 fully equipped troops. The full size UHAC will have similar dimensions so I don't imagine it will carry much more than a company at a time. With the much larger carrying capacity though it'll be able to move a lot more heavy equipment per load which means consolidating the beachhead and moving inland should go much faster.
The invasion of Guadalcanal, and the following months of bitter fighting, were without air dominance, although the Marines usually had some degree of air superiority. The Marine invasions in 1943 and later tended to follow the pattern: destroy all nearby Japanese airfields, aircraft, and boats of significant size, shell the #$#@^)&* out of the Japanese positions, and attack. It didn't make it easy (think Tarawa or Iwo Jima), but it made it possible. No US or British amphibious assault of the war ever failed.
So, I'd say the year you're looking for is 1943.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes