U.S. Navy supercavitating ship Ghost
According to the China National Defense Information Network: An article on the National Defense Aviation Network on August 10 said that on August 10, 2011, the Juliet ship system The company officially unveiled the "Ghost" ship, which was previously secretly managed by the US Navy/Patent Office. The company also immediately released photos of the "Ghost", which is also the first supercavitating ship currently available. . This new type of ship is specially designed and built by American civilians for the U.S. Navy to protect American sailors and servicemen without spending any government budget.
For the development of unprecedented supercavitating ships, it is no less difficult than breaking the supersonic flight. The design of the "Ghost" organically combines the relevant characteristics of airplanes and ships to create a gas cavity between the surface of the hull and the water, so that the frictional resistance generated by the ship when sailing is 900 times smaller than in the water. times. "Ghost" technology can be promoted and applied in manned, unmanned and surface and underwater vehicles.
The Navy can use the "Ghost" to perform covert missions on the high seas. Its stealth performance has incomparable advantages compared with conventional ships. Judging from its current design size, the "Ghost" is specially used to perform fleet defense tasks. The "Ghost" is technically scalable, so Juliet Ship Systems is also currently considering partnering with larger international defense companies to build corvette-sized (150-foot) ships.
The U.S. Navy's deployment of a fleet of "Ghost" ships in the Persian Gulf can reduce the deployment of other large ships in the region and reduce financial investment. This can not only free up a large number of destroyer and cruiser resources, but also save manpower and maintenance costs. The "Ghost" is an ideal anti-piracy patrol boat. The "Ghost" can be used as a maritime combat platform for anti-piracy attacks. The government can save approximately 1.5 billion US dollars in annual investment in combating piracy. For the global shipping industry, if supercavitation technology is applied, hull resistance can be greatly reduced, thereby saving fuel.
The "Ghost" formation is generally not detected by enemy warships using radars and sensors, so they can carry weapons weighing several thousand pounds (including Mark? 48 torpedoes) and successfully complete combat missions. The "Ghost" platform and related technologies can reduce the Navy's need for littoral combat ships and fully possess their ability to sail long distances and complete the same mission. The "Ghost" can promote the development of littoral combat ships in the direction of combat defense platforms. The Strait of Hormuz serves as an important passage for the transportation of most of the U.S. crude oil imports. Iran currently has the ability to prevent the U.S. Navy from performing missions in the Strait.
Considering the "Phantom"'s force protection capabilities, the U.S. Navy considers it an attack helicopter. The "Ghost" can quickly and silently transport fully armed combat troops between coasts for "long-distance force projection under enemy fire." The emergence of the "Ghost" supercavitating ship will greatly change the combat rules of the U.S. Navy.
Extended explanation of "supercavitation": Supercavitation is a physical phenomenon. When an object moves in water at a speed exceeding 185 kilometers/hour, a strange large water vapor ditch will form at its tail. , wrap the part of the object in contact with water, and the medium in contact with the object changes from water to air. Since the density of air is only 1/800 of water, it can greatly reduce the resistance of the object, and large air bubbles will be formed on the surface of the object. , this is the "supercavitation phenomenon". ?(China Ship Information Center?Shi Wenqiang)