Stealth Ships

"QUANTUM SHOT" #168


"M-80 Stiletto" - Radically Designed Ship for the Special Operations Forces

The M-shaped revolutionary hull of the "M-80 Stiletto" gives it very good stability at high speeds in shallow water, combined with great stealth.
It's a lightweight, all-carbon ship; 80 ft in length; designed for speeds of 50-60 kts (nearly 60 miles per hour) and powered by four 1,650-horsepower Caterpillar engines.















(images courtesy: M Ship Co.)

An additional air cushion is formed underneath the ship using the recaptured energy of the bow wave:


This breakthrough hull design allows it to achieve an exceptionally smooth ride at high speeds in rough seas. It can also launch multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to provide reconnaissance data, relayed to the "clustered" supercomputer on board. The vessel has the ability to navigate shallow rivers, chase bad guys at 60 miles per hour and can even be outfitted with jet drives for beaching.

"“We are confident that the M80 Stiletto’s design is superior to all other existing technologies. Nothing else is out there that can achieve the qualities important to brown water vessels at a relatively low cost with short design and production cycles"
(source M Ship Co.)

Further commercial application of this M-hull can be found
on the company's site:

M 100 Cargo Ship (designed for transport of 100 tons of cargo).



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2. "Sea Shadow" - legendary "movie star" stealth boat....

The program began in the mid-Eighties, when the ship was built in secret in 1985 and later used for various clandestine purposes. It was revealed to the public only 9 years later, in 1994. Since then it has become an icon of radical boat design, and is easily recognizable - it was prominently featured in the 1997 James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies". The interior of that villain's ship showed all kinds of luxury and accommodation, however in reality the boat only has 12 bunks, one microwave oven, a fridge and a table.











Recently "Sea Shadow" has been reactivated by the U.S. Navy; it will become part of the "DD 21" program, supporting the new Navy's 21st Century Land Attack Destroyer. If you have not heard about this development yet, here is an update:

3. "Stealth" Naval Destroyer with the reduced radar signature:



DD 21 in itself is only a part of a larger family of ships for the Navy's surface forces for the 21st Century. This Family includes a destroyer class (DD 21) and a cruiser class of ships:




(images courtesy: FAS: Military Analysis Network)

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Stealth boats and other Special Operations crafts sometimes need to be transported to distant areas on very short notice. Thanks to huge modern cargo planes, they can be anywhere in the world within 24 hours.





Special Operations Craft (SOC) Mk V and
the Rescue submersible Avalon (DSRV 2) being loaded into C-5 "Galaxy"
(image credit: Hazegray.org)

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Stealth Hybrid:
what happens if you cross an attack helicopter with a high-speed surface ship?

Lockheed Martin Corporation knows the answer: its Covert High-speed Attack and Reconnaissance Craft (CHARC) will protect NAVY's vessels from small, armed speedboats and submarines. And -
It will also change shape! "Riding high" position will give it better stability in the rough seas and "riding low" will help it to avoid visual, radar and infrared detection.


(image credit: Popular Mechanics)
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Finally, a "mystery" photo that I do not have much info about:



Sources and further reading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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